The EU convenes a High-Level Forum on: The EU Vision for Trustworthy AI in the world

On 15 March 2022, the European Union organised a High-Level Forum on the EU Vision for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the World at the Italian Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai.

The High-Level Forum was part of the event “European AI Excellence and Trust in the World” organised by the European Commission, through its International Outreach for Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence (InTouchAI.eu) initiative. The aim of this event was to leverage the international stage at the World EXPO to present the EU efforts to promote Trustworthy AI at a global level.

The event builds on the outcomes of the High Level Conference on AI - From Ambition to Action, which took place on 14 and 15 September 2021, and was jointly organised by the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council and the European Commission in the frame of its InTouchAI.eu initiative.

The High-Level Forum was opened by Andrea Matteo Fontana, EU Ambassador to the UAE and Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner General of Italy for Expo 2020 Dubai. Attendees also listened to opening statements by Anna Ascani, Under Secretary of State, Ministry for Economic Development, Government of Italy, Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament, Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age (AIDA), Co-Rapporteur AI Act, as well as a key note speech by Aimee van Wynsberghe, Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Applied Ethics of AI at the University of Bonn. The Forum also featured a high-level panel, moderated by Juha Heikkilä, Adviser for AI at the European Commission, which debated a series of hot topics and concerns on AI in different territories and organisations with experts from around the world,

The EU also organised two Expert Workshops on a human-centric approach to global challenges, focusing on AI for Sustainability and AI for Health, organized by the InTouchAI.eu project and hosted at the Spanish Pavilion on 16^th March.

The Expert Workshop on AI for Sustainability featured three EU projects in energy, smart and sustainable cities and precision agriculture. The projects showcased how AI is being developed and applied in the areas to ensure sustainable growth while achieving both digital and green transitions of the EU. A Panel of renowned academics and industry experts also shared their learnings and the way forwards in such AI-enabled innovation in sustainable growth.

The Expert Workshop on AI for Health discussed pioneering areas in adopting AI solutions for healthcare systems, treatments, diagnostics, precision medicine, and others, displaying examples of European AI excellence in healthcare, including robotics, AI in oncology, and algorithms for diagnosing, treating, and predicting haematological diseases and genomics. A panel discussion with international experts brought perspectives on the practical implications of AI in healthcare, including how to ensure that these technologies are developed with adequate consideration for their social and ethical aspects.

The overarching goal of the activities was to bring the European AI approach , which is based on the two key pillars, AI ecosystem of Trust and AI Ecosystem of Excellence, to the wider world and demonstrating AI innovations in areas with strong ethical, legal, and societal implications.