Ursula von der Leyen outlined Europe’s artificial intelligence policy goals during the annual State of the Union session of the European Parliament’s plenary in Strasbourg. The European Commission president said she would invite leading laboratories developing the most advanced AI models to discuss how to manage the rapid development of these systems in a controlled manner.
Von der Leyen said artificial intelligence had become a core technology for the economy and security, adding that Europe wanted to make the greatest possible use of this capacity to improve people’s quality of life and productivity. She said the technology could bring major benefits to humanity if developed properly, but stressed that it also carried significant risks.
Warning over risks from advanced models
Von der Leyen said the dangers that could emerge as the capabilities of AI models increase were becoming more apparent. She warned that systems under development could enable hacking activities on a scale previously thought impossible.
Von der Leyen said models capable of improving themselves could also create new risks. She identified AI agents leaving the environments established for them or inserting malicious code into systems as among the first signs of these dangers.
Von der Leyen said executives at companies developing advanced AI systems had warned that the pace at which models capable of continuously improving themselves were progressing needed to be brought under control. She added that the same openness should be applied to this issue.
EU law and joint safety efforts
Von der Leyen said the EU Artificial Intelligence Act was critical to establishing the necessary safety measures, adding that the regulation gave the bloc a strong position in global efforts to address AI risks.
Von der Leyen said cooperation would be expanded with Canada, the United Kingdom and other partners that share a similar approach. She said joint efforts would focus on evaluating and validating AI models, early warning systems and AI safety.
Europe’s capacity and areas of use
Von der Leyen said Europe needed its own AI capacity to protect its national security, stressing the importance of remaining in the race from the standpoint of independence. She announced that proposals would be presented to significantly increase Europe’s computing capacity and achieve that growth in a clean and efficient manner.
Von der Leyen said new methods would be developed to direct public- and private-sector resources toward promising European start-ups and companies. She added that Europe’s ability to derive economic value from AI depended on expanding the technology’s use in the real economy.
Von der Leyen said the aim was to increase the use of AI in factories, hospitals, precision agriculture, energy grids, autonomous driving systems and defense. She said Europe had identified health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, and defense and space as five priority sectors with high potential, adding that new initiatives for these fields would be announced in November.
Von der Leyen stressed that AI should support doctors rather than replace them in healthcare. She said Europe was adopting an AI approach that creates greater value and responsibility, costs less, consumes less energy and keeps human agency at its center.
