National AI Strategies in Europe: Where are we now and what’s next?

Date & Time: Tuesday, 22 June 2021 14h00-17h30 CET

This webinar is part of the OECD’s and the European Commission’s (EC) joint efforts on global monitoring and analysis of Artificial Intelligence developments. Together, OECD.AI and EC’s AI Watch provide a wealth of knowledge on trends in research and development, jobs and skills, and the latest AI news, as well as a repository of more than 650 AI policies and strategies from over 60 countries and the EU.

The webinar will be hosted by the OECD AI Policy Observatory team within the OECD’s digital economy policy division and by the European Commission’s Directorate‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) and the Directorate General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC). 

Objectives:

• Gain information about emerging trends in AI policy across EU countries in the context of building ecosystems of excellence and trust in AI
• Discover stakeholders’ views on the role of national AI policies in the development and uptake of trustworthy AI as well as on the opportunities and benefits of enhancing collaboration
• Learn about the work of the European Commission and the OECD to monitor and analyse national AI policies

AGENDA

14h00 – 14h30 Welcome

• Andrew Wyckoff, Director of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) of the OECD
• Mikel Landabaso, Director of the Directorate for Growth and Innovation at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
• Lucilla Sioli, Director of the Directorate Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry of the Directorate General of Communication, Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission

14h30-14h45 Keynote 1: EC-OECD monitoring of AI developments

• Karine Perset, Administrator of the OECD’s AI Policy Observatory
• Carlos Torrecilla, Head of Digital Economy Unit at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (or Paul Desruelle, Administrator of the AI Watch project, JRC Digital Economy Unit)

14h45-14h55 Keynote 2: European approach to AI

• Kilian Gross, Head of Artificial Intelligence Policy Development and Coordination Unit of the European Commission, DG Connect presents the Coordinated Plan review 2021 and how EU Member States are embracing the European approach on “Excellence and Trust” through their national strategies.

14h55-16h00 Session 1: How is Europe shaping excellence and trust in AI?

Member State representatives and a representative from the European Commission will discuss national AI policy strategies and emerging trends in different EU countries. They will identify opportunities and challenges in implementing and monitoring national AI policies in the context of the European Commission’s AI package. The discussion will seek answers to the following questions: 

• Current state of implementation of AI policies in EU countries: what are the main directions and trends in AI strategies?
• How do regional and global AI policy efforts contribute to tackling societal challenges such as the COVID-19 crisis and climate change?
• How does co-operation help to enhance Europe’s strength on the international AI arena?

Speakers:

• Cécile Huet, Deputy Head of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Excellence Unit of the European Commission
• Frederik Weiergang Larsen, Government official within the Danish Business Authority
• Andreas Hartl, Head of Division Strategy Artificial Intelligence, Data Economy, Blockchain at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
• Ana Costa Paula, Head of Unit for Business Policy at the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition in Portugal
• Jana Novohradska, Deputy Prime Minister’s Office for Investments and Informatization of the Slovak Republic
• András Hlács, Counsellor at the Permanent Delegation of Hungary to the OECD and UNESCO and Co-Chair of the OECD Network of Experts on AI working group on policies for AI

Moderator:

• Vincent Van Roy, EC – AI Policy Analyst, JRC AI Watch, European Commission

16h00-16h10 Coffee break

16h10-17h15 Session 2: How can stakeholders engage with national AI strategies and support the development of a wider AI ecosystem in Europe?

This session invites stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and academia to share their insights on how national AI policies facilitate the development and uptake of AI. It also aims at finding ways in which different groups of stakeholders could actively contribute to national AI policy making and support the implementation of national AI policies, which would in turn encourage them to develop, deploy and use trustworthy AI in Europe. In particular, the session paves the way for a discussion on:

• How to create vibrant and competitive AI ecosystems to foster AI diffusion, particularly among SMEs?
• How to promote social open dialogue to encourage cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaborative efforts in AI?
• How to enhance collaboration between the private sector, NGOs and academia to build human capacity on AI?
• How to foster public-private partnerships to address ambitious opportunities and challenges of AI?

Speakers:

• Ana Garcia Robles, Secretary General of the Big Data Value Association (BDVA)
• Casper Klynge, Vice President for EU Government Affairs at Microsoft
• Milly Doolan, Managing Director at EuroNavigator
• Michela Milano, Univ. Bologna and AI4EU, European AI On Demand Platform and Ecosystem ICT-26 project
• Nathanaël Ackerman, AI4Belgium Lead
• Barry O’Sullivan, Chair of Constraint Programming, School of Computer Science & IT – University College Cork, Founding director of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics

Moderator:

• Laura Galindo-Romero, OECD AI Policy Observatory AI Policy Analyst

17h15-17h30 Wrap-up / conclusions

• Audrey Plonk, Head of OECD Division for Digital Economy Policy
• Juha Heikkilä, Head of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Excellence Unit of the European Commission
• Carlos Torrecilla, Head of Digital Economy Unit at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission