The discussion entitled “AI Factories: Power Innovation in Europe” was extremely interesting, which was held in the 10th Financial forum Delphi. The AI Factories initiative and its ability to enhance innovation at European and national level has been analyzed.
The debate 10th Delphi Economic Forum It gathered prominent speakers from the state as the Minister of Digital Governance was present, Dimitris Papastergiou and the field of technology and innovation, which contributed valuable knowledge of the challenges, opportunities and strategies that shape the landscape of development and adoption of artificial intelligence.
The debate began with the announcement of the launch of not only the Greek factory of artificial intelligence, but also six more “Ai Factories”, with Kick-Off on April 1st. This mark marks an important step towards the implementation of the European Union vision to create a strong artificial intelligence ecosystem.
The bAngel Floros From the Infrastructure Unit of the Eurohpc Ju (European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking) gave the European dimension to the debate. Explained that Eurohpc, as a European Commission’s body, has the supervision of all European «AI Factories» and plays a central role in the development of computing infrastructure necessary for artificial intelligence.
Mr Floros stressed that artificial intelligence is a technology with enormous innovative potential, capable of affecting every aspect of our lives. Referred to the impressive development of linguistic models, such as ChatGPTand in Europe’s need to develop its own infrastructure to support the development of innovative artificial intelligence applications.
The speakers acknowledged that both Europe and Greece face significant challenges in the field of artificial intelligence.
«Digital Economy and Society Index»
In Europe, the «innovation gap» It is an important obstacle, as despite the existence of many start-ups of artificial intelligence, few of them manage to grow and become large companies.
In addition, the percentage of European companies using artificial intelligence It remains low. Another important issue is the lack of specialized staff, with Europe needing millions AI experts.
In Greece, the reading of «Digital Economy and Society Index»a European Index of Innovation and Digital Economy shows the difficulty in utilizing research activity for innovation, access to data, lack of specialized staff and infrastructure.
Despite the challenges, the speakers highlighted the great opportunities presented to Europe and Greece in the field of artificial intelligence. The «AI Factories» They are considered catalysts that can accelerate innovation, promote digital transformation and create new growth opportunities.
The Greek ‘Ai Factory’
Particular emphasis was placed on the Greek “Ai Factory”, under the name “Lighthouse”. The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiouhe presented the vision of the “lighthouse” and his role in the national strategy for artificial intelligence.
The minister clarified that the «AI Factories» They are not traditional factories, but natural and digital spaces that collect computational power, data and talent. He emphasized the importance of passing the Data Governance Act law, which will facilitate the access of businesses and researchers to anonymous data.
“Lighthouse” aims to support the development of artificial intelligence applications in three main themes: health, sustainable technologies (energy, environment, climate change) and language and culture.
The supercomputist “Daedalus”
THE Michalis KasimiotisManaging Director of Greece and Cyprus by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) presented him Overcoming “Daedalus”which will be the computational infrastructure of the Greek “AI Factory”.
Mr Kasimiotis highlighted the high performance, energy efficiency and innovative technologies of “Daedalus”, which is expected to be highly high on the global lists of supercomputers.
Need to ‘break the silos’
THE Andreas Stavropoulosa member of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence, spoke about the importance of creating a dynamic innovation ecosystem around the Greek “AI Factory”.
He stressed that the success of the “lighthouse” depends on the cooperation between universities, research centers, businesses, investors and the Greek diaspora. Mr. Stavropoulos emphasized the need to “break the silos” and adopt a culture of cooperation and mutual support, where the success of one will contribute to the success of the whole.
An important issue that emerged during the discussion was access to data, which is considered necessary for the development of artificial intelligence applications.
The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou He referred to the legislation on data governance and the initiative for a common European Health Data Area, which is expected to facilitate the access of researchers and businesses to anonymous data.
Another important issue is connectivity, as the transfer of large data sets is a challenge. Minister assured that the “Greece is turned into an important data center, with the arrival of many submarine cables, which will improve data access and availability.”.
The speakers agreed that the initiative of “AI Factories” is at a critical point and that its success depends on continuous cooperation, investment and effective challenges.
THE Christos TarantilisEY’s Partner, emphasized the importance of continuous improvement of skills and upskilling of the workforce to exploit the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence. He proposed the use of artificial intelligence itself for the development of personalized education and training programs.
Finally, the speakers expressed their optimism about the future of the initiative and the ability of “AI Factories” to overthrow innovation and growth in Europe and Greece.
The conference concluded with the expectation that the next conference would be held with the “Daedalus” supercomputer in operation and the Greek Ai Factory “Lighthouse” has begun to produce its first results.