Slovenia leads in Europe in terms of artificial intelligence researchers per capita
STA, 16 December 2021 – Slovenia is already a European power in the field of artificial intelligence, said Minister of Digital Transformation Mark Boris Andrijanič. As he pointed out on Thursday at the European Forum of Artificial Intelligence in Ljubljana, Slovenia has the most researchers of artificial intelligence per capita in Europe.
Slovenia is hosting the UNESCO Center for Artificial Intelligence and has an extremely lively AI community, said Minister Andrijanič in his address.
“We draw strength from more than four decades of research into artificial intelligence at the world-renowned Jožef Stefan Institute,” he added.
Andrijanič also touched on the importance of connecting state-of-the-art research with industry and the public sector and highlighted Slovenia’s decision to make digital transformation and artificial intelligence a priority during its EU presidency.
“During the Slovenian presidency, EU ministers confirmed the general approach to the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Data Management Act and the Network and Information Systems Security Directive, which together form the backbone of new digital legislation in the EU,” he said.
According to Andrijanić, the first compromise text for the Act on Artificial Intelligence was prepared during the Slovenian Presidency. This will be the first comprehensive legislative framework for artificial intelligence in the world, he stressed.
“Artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies do not know national borders or other such borders. Therefore, it is crucial that we all use their unlimited potential together,” Andrijanič added.
Andrijanič spoke at the European Artificial Intelligence Forum, a pan-European non-profit initiative dealing with artificial intelligence.
This year’s conference addressed the key challenges of introducing artificial intelligence and legislation addressing data issues in AI. It was organized by the AI4SI initiative and the Association for Informatics and Telecommunications at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.