Experimenting with Artificial Intelligence in Europe

The University of Bologna will play a leading role in EUSAiR, a new research project funded by the European Commission, designed to create controlled environments for testing and validating innovative artificial intelligence systems before their commercialisation. These testing environments, called 'sandboxes', can be used by small and medium-sized enterprises and startups developing artificial intelligence systems to reduce costs, making the market entry of new technologies sustainable.

ICSC - Italian Research Centre on High Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing will lead the two-year project. It will involve renowned academic institutions (the Universities of Bologna, Florence, Turku and Haaga-Helia), national authorities (ACN - Italian Cybersecurity Agency), some of the world's leading supercomputing centres (BSC, CINECA, CSC), Europe’s largest digital SME network of (European DIGITAL SME Alliance), and organisations specialising in responsible AI (ALLAI and TÜV AI.Lab) and in communication and co-creation processes (LOBA).

“Sandboxes are a crucial step towards harmonising the implementation of the AI Act, supporting the ecosystem of innovative AI development in Europe, particularly for SMEs and startups, and helping make the European AI model attractive and reliable”, says Antonino Rotolo, professor at the University of Bologna and member of ICSC coordinating the project. “EUSAiR will work closely with the AI Office of the European Commission, the 27 member states, and organisations such as TEFs and EDIHs to promote wide accessibility to these sandboxes, reducing compliance costs and market entry barriers”.

Through an innovative approach, EUSAiR aims at improving the oversight of competent authorities, promoting evidence-based learning, sharing best practices and facilitating AI systems’ access to the EU market. As part of this effort, national authorities and key players of the European AI ecosystem will be offered support and expertise, promoting a multidisciplinary effort on joint initiatives, focusing especially on the ethical use of AI.