EU Launched ‘Apply AI’ Strategy to Strengthen SME Competitiveness

The European Union has introduced the ‘Apply AI’ strategy. This is a global sectoral initiative that represents another step towards positioning Europe as a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Its main goal is to strengthen the competitiveness of strategic sectors and enhance the EU’s technological sovereignty. Furthermore, the strategy focuses on boosting the adoption and innovation of AI among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Key Objectives and Approach

This new strategy aims to integrate Artificial Intelligence across the business landscape and public sector. To achieve this, it promotes two central approaches:

• AI-First Policy: Encouraging organizations to consider AI as a potential solution in all strategic decisions, carefully weighing its benefits and risks.
• ‘Buy European’ Approach: Promoting the procurement of European AI solutions, especially in the public sector, with an emphasis on open-source technologies.

The Three Pillars of the ‘Apply AI’ Strategy

The initiative, which complements the AI Continent Action Plan, is structured around three fundamental pillars of action:

• Initiatives for Key Sectors: Boosting AI adoption in 10 key industrial sectors. These include healthcare, mobility, robotics, manufacturing, energy, agri-food, defense, and space.
• Technological Sovereignty and Capacity Building: Strengthening the role of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) by transforming them into centers of AI expertise. This will facilitate access to resources like ‘AI Factories’ and testing facilities. Additionally, the strategy plans to empower a workforce prepared for the challenges of AI.
• New Governance System: Creating the Apply AI Alliance. This will be a coordination forum bringing together AI providers, industry leaders, academia, and the public sector. Its purpose is to ensure that policies meet real-world market needs.

Complementary Strategies and Access to Information

The ‘Apply AI’ strategy is complemented by two other crucial initiatives. The first is the ‘AI in Science’ strategy, which aims to support the use of AI by the scientific community. The second is the Data Union Strategy, which will ensure the availability of high-quality data, essential for training AI models.

Consult the official documents to learn more about this new European Union initiative.

DOWNLOAD THE ‘APPLY AI’ STRATEGY HERE

VIEW THE STRATEGY ANNEXES HERE

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