CAIRNE

CAIRNE is the abbreviation for the "Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe". The initiative was launched by Dr. Holger Hoos, Professor of Machine Learning at the Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) at Leiden University, Netherlands; Dr. Morten Irgens, Vice Rector at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway; and Prof. Dr. Philipp Slusallek, Scientific Director at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany. The Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) is one of the youngest universities in Europe with a focus on the technological changes in living and working environments. Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands and one of the 100 most research-intensive universities in the world.

Artificial intelligence technology will have a major impact on the future well-being of Europe. Our ability to develop the science, innovations, products and services of the future will determine not only whether we can maintain comparatively high levels of prosperity, welfare, public services and security, but also whether Europe will be able to create a future based on European experiences and values. A strong technological position is needed to meet the many challenges of the future.

China, Japan and the USA are all investing heavily in research in artificial intelligence. China's declared goal is to establish a dominant role in all areas of artificial intelligence. Last year alone, the USA invested between 12 and 19 billion euros in commercial artificial intelligence. Both China and the USA are building impressive research centres and institutes.

CAIRNE is a concrete proposal on how to address these developments in Europe. Given the existing excellence in all areas of AI in Europe, with some of the world's best AI researchers and a strong industry in many sectors that can benefit from AI, it is in a very good position to be an important player in the field.