The Secretary of State presents the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy at CiTIUS
Carme Artigas Brugal, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, presented today the ‘ENIA’ (National Artificial Intelligence Strategy) during an online event organized at CiTIUS (Singular Center for Research in Intelligent Technologies of the University of Santiago de Compostela), an initiative of the Government of Spain to harness the opportunities for socioeconomic transformation offered by Artificial Intelligence.
CiTIUS (Singular Center for Research in Intelligent Technologies of the University of Santiago de Compostela) hosted this morning the public presentation of the new National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA), an initiative announced in December by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, which involves a public investment of 600 million euros for the 2021–2023 period and is one of the key proposals of the Spain Digital 2025 Plan, launched last July.
After a brief introduction by the Rector of the University of Santiago, Antonio López, and the Scientific Director of CiTIUS, Senén Barro, the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Carme Artigas, revealed some of the key aspects of this new strategy, with which the Government aims to align national policies designed to promote the development and use of AI in Spain.
Throughout her address, the Secretary of State particularly highlighted the work of universities and research centers, describing their role as “absolutely indispensable”. In this regard, she publicly supported the creation of a new Degree in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Santiago and recalled that the goal is to continue working together in the future, while also strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors.
As an example of this collaboration, she announced that the Government will promote the creation of a Network of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, still to be defined, but which is expected to initially include a small number of AI-specialized centers with the capacity to “radiate talent”. The Government’s forecasts for the creation of this new Network of Excellence envisage that this call will be launched within the next two or three months.
Carme Artigas also underscored the importance of the current momentum in the sector, stressing the need to seize the historic opportunity offered by AI to rebuild the economy without leaving anyone behind, closing long-standing gaps. In this way, the Secretary of State focused on the four major challenges currently facing Artificial Intelligence (technological, ethical, regulatory and social), pointing out that the Government will back a green AI (more ecological and sustainable), ethical and humanistic.
After the event, which was joined by more than two hundred people from multiple parts of Spain, attendees had the opportunity to take part in a discussion with the Secretary of State, who answered some of the questions raised by the different profiles represented, from universities and research centers to professionals and company managers—from start-ups to large corporations—as well as technical staff and senior officials from Public Administrations.
The new strategy, presented today to the main stakeholders in the sector, aims to be a meeting point for the demands of all interested parties, reconciling the concerns of the scientific community, industry, civil society and the most vulnerable communities, but above all, it seeks to understand and prevent the implications arising from the rapid introduction of Artificial Intelligence in key social spheres.
CiTIUS (Singular Center for Research in Intelligent Technologies of the University of Santiago de Compostela) hosted this morning the public presentation of the new National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA), an initiative announced in December by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, which involves a public investment of 600 million euros for the 2021–2023 period and is one of the key proposals of the Spain Digital 2025 Plan, launched last July.
After a brief introduction by the Rector of the University of Santiago, Antonio López, and the Scientific Director of CiTIUS, Senén Barro, the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Carme Artigas, revealed some of the key aspects of this new strategy, with which the Government aims to align national policies designed to promote the development and use of AI in Spain.
Throughout her address, the Secretary of State particularly highlighted the work of universities and research centers, describing their role as “absolutely indispensable”. In this regard, she publicly supported the creation of a new Degree in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Santiago and recalled that the goal is to continue working together in the future, while also strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors.
As an example of this collaboration, she announced that the Government will promote the creation of a Network of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, still to be defined, but which is expected to initially include a small number of AI-specialized centers with the capacity to “radiate talent”. The Government’s forecasts for the creation of this new Network of Excellence envisage that this call will be launched within the next two or three months.
Carme Artigas also underscored the importance of the current momentum in the sector, stressing the need to seize the historic opportunity offered by AI to rebuild the economy without leaving anyone behind, closing long-standing gaps. In this way, the Secretary of State focused on the four major challenges currently facing Artificial Intelligence (technological, ethical, regulatory and social), pointing out that the Government will back a green AI (more ecological and sustainable), ethical and humanistic.
After the event, which was joined by more than two hundred people from multiple parts of Spain, attendees had the opportunity to take part in a discussion with the Secretary of State, who answered some of the questions raised by the different profiles represented, from universities and research centers to professionals and company managers—from start-ups to large corporations—as well as technical staff and senior officials from Public Administrations.
The new strategy, presented today to the main stakeholders in the sector, aims to be a meeting point for the demands of all interested parties, reconciling the concerns of the scientific community, industry, civil society and the most vulnerable communities, but above all, it seeks to understand and prevent the implications arising from the rapid introduction of Artificial Intelligence in key social spheres.