STA, 16 December 2021 - Slovenia is already a European power in the field of artificial intelligence, said the Minister for Digital Transformation, Mark Boris Andrijanič. As he pointed out on Thursday at the European AI Forum in Ljubljana, Slovenia has the highest number of AI researchers per capita in Europe.
Slovenia hosts the UNESCO Centre for Artificial Intelligence and has an extremely vibrant AI community, minister Andrijanič pointed out in his address.
"We draw our strength from more than four decades of artificial intelligence research at the world-renowned Jožef Stefan Institute," he added.
Andrijanič also touched upon the importance of linking cutting-edge research with industry and the public sector, and highlighted Slovenia's decision to make digital transformation and AI one of its top priorities during its EU presidency.
"During Slovenia's presidency, EU ministers endorsed the general approach on the digital services act, the digital markets act, the data governance 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 Andrijanič, the first compromise text for the artificial intelligence act was already prepared during the Slovenian presidency. This will be the first comprehensive legislative framework for AI in the world, he pointed out.
"Artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies know no national borders or other limits of this kind. It is therefore crucial that we all work together to harness their unlimited potential," Andrijanič added.
Andrijanič spoke at the European AI Forum, a pan-European non-profit initiative addressing the field of artificial intelligence.
This year's conference addressed the key challenges of AI deployment and the legislation dealing with issues of data in AI. It was organised by the AI4SI initiative and the Association for Informatics and Telecommunications at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
