EUROPE'S AI EXPANSION RISKS DEEPENING FOREIGN DEPENDENCE, EESC WARNS

The EESC argues that the Commission’s cloud and AI development plan relies on funding that has not been secured, overlooks potential electricity demand and gives affected communities too little say. 

In an opinion adopted on 23 September, the EESC has backed the ambition of the European Commission’s proposed Cloud and AI Development Act, which aims to strengthen Europe’s digital infrastructure and reduce reliance on non-European companies, but nonetheless has put forward criticisms in several key areas.  

The EESC warns that the proposal sets ambitious targets without guaranteeing the investment needed to meet them. ‘We welcome the Commission’s aim to strengthen Europe’s cloud and AI capacity and reduce our dependence on non-European suppliers. But it’s not enough to talk about ambition. If we want to expand Europe’s data-centre capacity substantially, we need to know how this will be financed,’ rapporteur for the opinion Miroslav Hajnoš said.   

Furthermore, the Commission's plan to at least triple the EU's data-centre capacity by 2030 will not automatically deliver greater technical sovereignty. Without public contracts for sovereign European-owned and operated services new investment could end up benefiting the large non-EU providers that already dominate the market, the EESC stated.  

A major concern of the EESC relates to the erosion of human capabilities to perform tasks independently as organisations become more reliant on AI. This decline may go unnoticed because productivity can appear stable even while human knowledge is being lost. National authorities should monitor this risk and assess whether essential public functions could still be performed, verified or restored if an AI or cloud service failed.  

‘As we roll out AI, we need to think about what skills people must retain. Education will have a key role to play. As Europe builds its technological capabilities, we must not lose our human and institutional autonomy,’ Mr Hajnoš said.  

The EESC also calls on the Commission to assess whether electricity generation can keep pace with the requirements of these technologies and proposes requiring grid operators to provide developers with information on available capacity, connection costs and schedules within six months of a request.  

Moreover, the EESC says workers, civil society and consumer organisations should be involved in shaping national cloud and AI strategies. It calls for training programmes to be developed with employers and trade unions and for specific measures to attract and retain young people. (ma/ll)