EU sets sights on artificial intelligence future

It hopes to see pledges of at least 20 billion euros per year, through public and private cash. "We should create a climate in which start-ups can be set-up easily and are not directly overrun by big companies," said Francis Wyffels, Robotics and AI Professor, Ghent University. A focus of the recent'Hack Belgium' event in Brussels, AI has some catching up to do in Europe - compared to the likes of America and Asia. The EU hopes to stand out by driving ethics standards, a hot topic in the wake of all the data scandals of late. Belgium wants to see excellence centres, to step up the pace of technology.