VISION

Project name: Value and Impact through Synergy, Interaction and coOperation of Networks of AI Excellence Centres
ID code: 952070
Website: www.vision4ai.eu
Supported by: European Union, Horizon 2020
Programme: H2020-ICT-48: Towards a vibrant European network of AI excellence centres, CSA
Project duration: 09/2020 – 08/2023 (36 months)
Budget: Total budget: 1 998 910 €
EU support: 1 998 910 €
Support for CIIRC CTU: 261 250 €
Principal  investigator at CIIRC: Eva Doležalová
Project Coordinator: University of Leiden, The Netherlands
Project Partners: DFKI, Germany
University College Cork, Ireland
CTU in Prague, Czechia
Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Italy
INRIA, France
TNO, The Netherlands
PwC, Italy
Thales Group, France

Annotation:

A broad and ambitious vision is needed for artificial intelligence (AI) research and innovation in Europe to thrive and remain internationally competitive. Building upon its strength across all areas of AI and commitment to its core values, Europe is excellently positioned to take a human-centred, ethical and trustworthy approach to AI.

However, to establish itself as a powerhouse in AI, Europe needs to overcome the present fragmentation of the AI community, which creates inefficiencies and limits progress on next-generation, trustworthy AI tools and systems that draw from methods across a broader spectrum of AI techniques. Europe also needs to improve interaction between AI researchers, innovators and users. Following on from the European Commission’s Communication on AI for Europe and the Coordinated Action Plan between the European Commission and the Member States, European efforts in AI should be strongly coordinated to be internationally competitive. Europe must scale up existing research capacities and reach critical mass through tighter networks of European AI excellence centres. Towards this end, effective coordination between the four networks of AI excellence centres to be established under ICT-48-2020 (Research and Innovation Actions) is of crucial importance.

VISION will reinforce and build on Europe’s assets in AI, including its world-class community of researchers, and thus enable Europe to stay at the forefront of AI developments, which is widely recognised as critical in maintaining Europe’s strategic autonomy in AI. VISION will achieve this in the most efficient and effective manner possible, by strongly building on the success and organisation of CLAIRE (the Confederation of Laboratories for AI Research in Europe, claire-ai.org) as well as on AI4EU, and by leveraging the expertise and connections of several of Europe’s leading institutions in AI research and innovation.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 952070.