Alphabet and Microsoft have both made significant investments in artificial intelligence in Western Europe this week, in anticipation of upcoming European Union AI regulations set to be introduced in April.
Google is establishing a new AI hub in Paris that will house over 300 Google researchers and engineers, including members of the Chrome and YouTube development teams, as announced by the French Finance Ministry.
The objective of the new AI hub is to expedite the development of AI-based products in France, forge new academic and research partnerships, and boost the adoption of AI tools among French workers, according to the French Finance Ministry’s Feb. 14 news release.
France has positioned itself as a European center for AI development. For instance, Mistal AI, a French AI company, was founded in April 2023 by former Google DeepMind and Meta researchers and has already achieved a valuation of approximately US $2 billion, with an initial funding round raising about US $415 million.
Meanwhile, Microsoft will invest €3.2 billion (US $3.4 billion) by the end of 2025 to expand the company’s AI infrastructure and cloud capacity in Germany.
“Microsoft is committed to enabling companies across the German economy to use AI to remain at the cutting edge of global competitiveness,” stated Microsoft President Brad Smith in a Tweet. “This … investment will double Microsoft’s AI infrastructure and cloud capacity to meet the country’s accelerating demand for AI services.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lauded the investment, stating in a news release that it will enhance the computing infrastructure in the county and fortify the German AI ecosystem.
The investment will be utilized to construct new data centers near Frankfurt and in North Rhine-Westphalia, as per Smith. A portion of the funding will also be allocated to train approximately 1.2 million German workers.
Impending regulation
Both companies’ investments in Western Europe seem to be a move to comply with EU AI regulations, according to Jason Wong, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “Microsoft, Google, and other companies that host generative AI models will need to build the requisite infrastructure and operations in Europe to be compliant with existing and emerging regulations on AI data and usage by consumers and businesses,” he said via email.
This week, two groups of lawmakers in the European Parliament ratified a provisional agreement as a step toward an April vote on landmark legislation that would create the world’s first AI regulations. The proposed EU AI Act would ban the use of AI to create “unacceptable risk,” including cognitive behavioral manipulation of people or classifying people based on behavior, socio-economic status, or other personal characteristics.
The legislation would also require AI tools that represent a “high risk” to be registered with the EU. High-risk AI applications include those used in cars,…
2024-02-20 09:00:04
Original from www.computerworld.com