EU and USA launch first comprehensive AI agreement
The EU and the US recently announced an agreement to accelerate and enhance the use of artificial intelligence to improve agriculture, healthcare, emergency response, climate forecasting, and the power grid, reported Reuters. Shortly before the official announcement, a senior US government official described the initiative as the first comprehensive AI agreement between the US and Europe. Previously, such contracts were limited to specific areas such as data protection.
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Data should remain in the US and EU
According to the agreement, machine learning algorithms could be used to improve the speed and efficiency of government operations and services. “The magic here is in building joint models (while) leaving data where it is,” said the senior administration official. “The U.S. data stays in the U.S. and European data stays there, but we can build a model that talks to the European and the U.S. data because the more data and the more diverse data, the better the model.”
The initiative aims to give governments better access to more detailed and data-intensive AI models. Among other things, this should lead to more efficient emergency measures and better power grid management. Looking at the power grid, the official said the United States is collecting data on how energy is being consumed, where it’s being generated, and how to balance the load on the grid so weather changes don’t shut down the grid.
Other countries are also invited
Many European countries have similar data, which they collect through their own networks. As part of the new partnership, all this data will flow into a common AI model. This should deliver better outcomes for emergency managers, network operators, and others who rely on AI to improve their systems. The partnership is currently only between the White House and the European Commission. However, other countries are said to be invited to join in the coming months.
