Item 1 of 2 European Commissioner-designate Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy walks on the day of the first meeting of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with European Commissioner-designates in Brussels, Belgium, 18 September 2024. OLIVIER HOSLET/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
BRUSSELS, Oct 23 (Reuters) – Europe’s nominated head of tech sovereignty and security will work towards boosting the EU’s use of artificial intelligence and “disruptive” technology for the battlefield.
In written responses to European Parliament questions, Henna Virkkunen said she would prepare an AI and Cloud Development Act to counter the EU’s growing “productivity gap” with China and the United States.
“Only 8% of EU businesses use AI, only 33% of our companies use cloud, and the data centre footprint in Europe is one third of that in the US,” Virkkunen wrote.
The potential new Act would focus on developing energy efficient technology, prioritising large-scale investments considered “first-of-a-kind”, setting new standards for the Single Market, and security of supply and cybersecurity.
Virkkunen said the protection of minors was one of her top priorities and she would tackle the addictive quality of social media apps that hurt children and adolescents.
“The recently opened investigations against TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram on addictive design, dark patterns and protection of minors need to be vigorously pursued,” she wrote.
Virkkunen will also work to develop the European Defence Union with her peers. The Commission included a Defence Commissioner role for the first time to build up military manufacturing capacity next to the bloc’s eastern border on the edge of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Virkkunen said she wants to help fund and scale up “disruptive” technologies for civilian and military purposes.
“Small deep tech companies can bring real disruptive effect to the battlefield, but they remain underfunded,” she said.
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Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
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