The European Commission needs to boost investment in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity research if it wants to compete in a new technology race with the US and China. This is the view of Jürgen Rüttgers, former science and technology minister in Germany, who heads an advisory group reporting to the Commission. Their work, developed by Rüttgers with 13 other figures drawn across research, industry and finance and to be published 23 February, looks at expanding industrial research in Framework Programme 9, the EU's next research and innovation programme, set to start in 2021. In an interview, Rüttgers argues that artificial intelligence should get extra EU attention. "We are very strong in [the AI] field, and we don't always see that we are strong," he said. But the global balance of power in technology is shifting.