AI and utilities: Europe’s defining role
Artificial intelligence is changing the world but is it for the better? Tamara McCleary, CEO atThulium, argues that Europe’s power sector has a crucial role to play in leading the responsible application of AI.
It will come as no surprise to hear that artificial intelligence is used in some of the most exciting technologies coming to the fore in the 21st century. After all, there’s nothing new about dreams of technological utopias, populated by machines that anticipate and cater to our every need. Machines that empower us to do more of what we really value, better. Such visions now look increasingly like they could be within our grasp.
Progress has primarily been made in the field of machine learning, spurred on by innovative tech giants and start-ups alike, particularly in the US and China. As the Internet of Things continues to take hold, with internet-enabled devices collecting ever-more data, there will be more and more for our machines to learn – and gain in intelligence.
Clearly this process needs careful guidance – and that’s where Europe can come into its own.
The biggest danger we face as we build a world defined by AI is our understanding, or lack thereof, of what this all really means. For instance, what will the world look like in 2030? Barely more than 10 years away, it’s already impossible to tell. Such is the pace of change that the mere question is like asking someone in 1920 to predict the social media platforms of today.
As the likes of Silicon Valley persist with a culture of building and beta-testing their ideas, making the move to market quickly and iterating as they go, there is no reason to expect developments to slow down any time soon. Nor would we want them to, but it is important that we also dedicate great minds to the task of ensuring that innovative AI technologies lead the world in 2030 to a better, not worse, future destination than the present.
This is a chance for Europe’s own AI visionaries to play a critical role in shaping our future.
Europe’s culture of innovation is a little slower than that of the US and China. This is not due to a lack of talent or infrastructure, but because of an emphasis on perfecting a product before release. It’s a different mindset but no less valuable, especially when the consequences of product development can be dramatic – either way.
We need European AI experts to consider not just what’s possible, but what’s actually responsible. As all Black Mirror fans know, not all ideas should be unleashed on humanity.
After all, it is on this topic that Europe comes into its own. The continent is home to companies like DeepMind researching ways to apply AI to the benefit of humanity.
