There are few extra urgent questions going through European governments than the right way to drive financial progress and make the area extra aggressive. And it’s clear that one of the vital necessary methods to spice up the EU’s competitiveness is by harnessing AI for progress.
A new report by Implement Consulting Group, commissioned by Google, estimates that generative AI might add €1.2-1.4 trillion to the EU’s GDP in ten years – the equal to an annual progress price of 8%. The report additionally outlines how AI can considerably enhance productiveness throughout numerous sectors.
This skill of generative AI to spice up financial progress and competitiveness is especially vital for Europe. In keeping with Mario Draghi’s new report, Europe’s competitiveness has nosedived over the previous many years: the EU’s share of world GDP has shrunk from over 1 / 4 in 1980 to simply 17% right this moment. US productiveness has surpassed the EU’s by 20% in 2022.
However this report is about greater than financial metrics — it’s about how AI will help folks be extra productive, gasoline progress and help long run sustainable jobs of the long run. 74% of staff in European international locations see productivity-enhancing results of generative AI, and 43% of staff in European international locations count on AI to positively affect their job. Our new report estimates that almost all (61%) of jobs shall be augmented by generative AI whereas round 7% face a long-term transition to automation. As with earlier transitions, just like the delivery of business aviation or the worldwide internet, new industries and careers shall be made completely attainable by AI powered breakthroughs. This affect has the potential to be felt throughout society — from enhancing the standard and effectivity of public providers to unlocking scientific breakthroughs and assuaging labor shortages by releasing up sources and boosting productiveness.
Europe’s productiveness hole is basically right down to slower technological growth, innovation and adoption. As Mario Draghi says, “with the world on the cusp of an AI revolution, Europe can’t afford to stay caught within the ‘center applied sciences and industries’ of the earlier century”. To catch up, the EU should unlock its revolutionary potential.
A brand new agenda for AI backed progress
That is why right this moment, along with our Financial report, we’re additionally releasing our AI Alternative Agenda: a collection of suggestions for governments to grab the complete financial and societal potential of AI. The Agenda outlines the necessity to revisit Europe’s workforce technique, in addition to funding in AI infrastructure and analysis, adoption and accessibility.
1. Investing in analysis and growth
For the EU to really compete in AI, it must make analysis and growth a shared precedence, in addition to making funding extra accessible. With out the precise incentives to develop and commercialise AI innovation, Europe is stifling its expertise and its probabilities of launching extra home-grown tech unicorns.
2. Constructing infrastructure to help innovation
AI breakthroughs are solely attainable with the precise high-performance computing applied sciences and knowledge centres — and the renewable vitality to help them. To allow AI innovation at scale, the EU might want to allocate extra funding to financing such infrastructure — in addition to incentivising and enabling the non-public sector to do the identical.
3. Bettering expertise and coaching programmes
Technological progress is not going to be efficient if persons are left behind. Given its range, the EU should ensure that expertise advantages each enterprise, economic system and individual. To do that, it must speed up digital expertise transformation, placing AI expertise and training on the centre of a revitalised European Expertise Agenda — and including it to high school curriculums.
4. Selling widespread adoption
We finally want to make sure that AI is utilized and deployed in a universally accessible and helpful method. For the non-public sector, EU policymakers and AI builders should work collectively to develop outreach methods to conventional industries and small companies who’ve a lot to achieve from AI adoption. For the general public sector, member states should double down on current initiatives to extend the general public procurement of AI and growing bolder AI adoption targets.
Taking motion
Growing good coverage and accountable AI will want shut coordination between governments, the non-public sector, academia and civil society. By our AI Alternative Initiative and different partnerships we’re dedicated to working with others to get this proper. However, as Mario Draghi highlighted, change can be wanted within the regulatory atmosphere. Since 2019, the EU has launched over 100 items of laws that affect the digital economic system and society. It’s not simply the sheer variety of laws that’s the problem – it’s the complexity. Transferring from the regulatory-first strategy will help to unlock the chance of AI.
In some ways, Europe is well-positioned to grab this second. AI has the potential to assist us construct a greater, fairer, more healthy society — and to help competitiveness and inclusive progress.
