Horizon Europe

Digitalization and AI
Dr. Anna Karasoulou

akarasoulou@athenarc.gr Athena Proposal Support Office (APSO) www.athenarc.gr

 Horizon Europe
The new EU programme for research and innovation, running from 2021 to 2027.

Participation in Horizon Europe - Keeping it simple : competitive, fair and transparent, easy to access, European
Comission, 28/9/20
Digitalization
Making technology work for people
European Research and Innovation Days
22-24/9/2020 reach
climate and
sustainability
goals
bring high-
improving
impact
the
innovations
efficiency of
in
farming How healthcare
research
and
innovation
contributes
to AI policy
transport education

industry

and many other sectors …

Digitalization
Making technology work for people

the huge potential of digital technologies such as artificial

Digital technologies
intelligence (AI) and big data for robotics and health

ethical challenges such as gender and ethnicity biases in AI and

Ethical challenges
medical research

the profound societal and economic implications of digitalisation for the

Digital skills
future of work and how to best advance digital skills in Europe
how to involve all players in the research and innovation lifecycle to ensure
Europe’s Digital
technology really does work for everyone and deliver on the promise of Europe’s
Single Market?
Digital Single Market?
Digitalization
The Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition brings together Member States,
companies, social partners, non-profit organisations and education
providers, who take action to tackle the lack of digital skills in Europe
Digital skills
developing digital skills to enable all citizens to be active in our digital
for all
society

developing digital skills for the digital economy,

for the labour force e.g. upskilling and reskilling workers, jobseekers;
actions on career advice and guidance

developing high level digital skills for ICT professionals in all industry
for ICT professionals
sectors

transforming teaching and learning of digital skills in a lifelong

in education
perspective, including the training of teachers
The Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition in a nutshell (Last update: 29 September 2020)
Digitalization
The uptake of AI entails a number of potential risks and will bring
about considerable socioeconomic changes.

EU must
act as one
and define
its own
way ensuring that new technologies are at the
service of all Europeans – improving their
to promote lives while respecting their rights, human
the dignity and privacy protection.
development

and
bases on EU
deployment
values
of AI
Digitalization
Commission's research and innovation policy on artificial intelligence
focuses on

developing and deploying AI

promoting the development of
solutions that have positive increasing and prioritising public
Trustworthy AI by improving
impacts on society and the and private investments
diversity and prompting ethics
economy
 Digitalization
Develop an AI ecosystem that brings the benefits of the technology to
the whole of European society and economy.
WHITE PAPER - On Artificial Intelligence -A European approach to excellence and trust, European Commission, 19/2/2020

-Improved health care

-Fewer breakdowns of household machinery
for citizens to reap new benefits
-Safer and cleaner transport systems
-Better public services

-new generation of products and services in areas where Europe is

for business development
for services of public interest
particularly strong
(machinery, transport, cybersecurity, farming, the green and circular
economy, healthcare and high-value added sectors like fashion and
tourism)
by reducing the costs of providing services
(transport, education, energy and waste management),
by improving the sustainability of products and
by equipping law enforcement authorities
Digitalization
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence in Green deal, Medical Research, etc.
On the side of the commission:
Prioritizing work and research on AI based solution across the Horizon Europe programme.
• AI tools will allow us to make big difference in digital transformation and other challenges where AI
research and innovation deals with and provides Knowledge and solution (Green deal, health, other
challenges).

AI instruments need to be accessible to all citizens.

The entry level of the technology should be carefully considered to ensure that everyone can indeed benefited.

Reconfirm what someone knows and deals with that we want to ensure AI supported research is based on the
principle of AI by design.
Drive your research that you are ethical by the design.
• Whenever you will deal with AI research there will be provisions made in Work programme-Evaluations-
delivery of the project that ethics are the heart of the AI development (health applications - One of the
ethical challenges will be Equality in access to health and health outcomes).
Digitalization
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence in Medical Research

Ethics
trust
openness
collaboration between researchers and industry
(joint strategy, focus)
chat bot technology
(many languages)

computer power
(quick calculations)

transparency
(everybody knows about diseases)
 European Research and Innovation Days
22-24/9/2020
Digitalization
• European Partnerships are initiatives where the EU together with private
and/or public partners commit to jointly support the development and
Artificial implementation of a programme of research and innovation activities.

Intelligence, • Directionality : agree about the vision and all work for the same direction
Data & Robotics: • Additionality : long term commitment from all parties
Building wider • Importance of the 3 “building blocks” : AI, Data & Robotics big impact

synergies around • Mobilise of the whole community : define and implement the strategy
• Joining forces with the Member States - Coordinated Plan : develop
Europe synergies and maximize impact
 Thank you

akarasoulou@athenarc.gr Athena Proposal Support Office (APSO) www.athenarc.gr