The 1st Regular Plenary Meeting of AICZECHIA – National Initiative for Artificial Intelligence, which was established on 16 January, 2019, was held in Prague on 21March. Its aim is to become a respected national platform for cooperation of Czech laboratories and teams working in the field of artificial intelligence brush away boundaries of scientific disciplines and develop artificial intelligence and thus help fulfill the National Innovation Strategy.
AICZECHIA is a partner of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic in preparing the Czech Republic’s Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence. According to data processed by AICZECHIA, almost 900 professionals are involved in academic research in artificial intelligence in the Czech Republic, and in 2018, the operating expenses in this area were over CZK 900 million alone.
AICZECHIA’s objectives are fully in line with the objectives of pan-European networks for artificial intelligence – CLAIRE and ELLIS. The CLAIRE office was established at CIIRC ČVUT to support AICZECHIA and other artificial intelligence communities in Central and Eastern Europe. After headquarters in The Hague (Netherlands), offices in Oslo (Norway), Rome (Italy) and Saarbrücken (Germany), the Prague office is only the fifth contact point of this leading European network of excellence. This direct link to Europe’s strongest artificial intelligence research network is a great opportunity for the Czech Republic to become one of the pillars of a planned pan-European center of excellence for artificial intelligence.
