Scientists call for a European institute for AI in science

The scientists involved with the advice were nominated by academies through the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences nominated Paul Groth, Professor of Algorithmic Data Science at the University of Amsterdam.

Scientific Advise Mechanism 

The Scientific Advice Mechanism provides independent scientific evidence and policy recommendations to the European institutions. Experts from various scientific backgrounds were asked to issue comprehensive scientific advice on artificial intelligence that informs top EU policymakers. 

The advice comes in response to a request from Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, to guide and support the overall European Commission’s strategy for AI in research and innovation. 

European institute for AI in science

As part of the new advice, the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission recommends forming a new European institute for AI in science that would provide massive high-performing computational power, a sustainable cloud infrastructure, and AI training programmes for scientists. 

 In addition to these services, a European AI in Science Council would provide dedicated funding for researchers in all disciplines to explore and adopt AI in their sciences. These would also ensure that AI in research aligns with EU core values.

AI-powered scientific research requires a vast amount of data. That data should be high quality, responsibly collected and well curated, with fair access for European researchers and innovators. 

Technologies driven by people

Finally, scientists highlighted that the technologies of the future must be driven by people and communities and not just by profit. The EU should promote research on the philosophical, legal and ethical issues that arise when AI is used in science, and the impact of these issues on fundamental human rights, transparency and accountability. 

Background 

The Scientific Advice Mechanism provides independent scientific evidence and policy recommendations to the European institutions by request of the College of Commissioners. It includes the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) consortium, which gathers expertise from more than 100 academies across Europe, and the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GSCA), who provide independent guidance informed by the evidence.