Ireland is hosting an international AI summit in Dublin on Wednesday. The European Union wants to use the event to push its plan to grow artificial intelligence across the bloc.
The EU is looking to Ireland as an example. The country was an early adopter of AI and has welcomed data centres, despite pushback from local residents.
Europe Tries to Catch Up
The EU supports strong rules to limit the risks of AI. It also believes it must invest in the technology to avoid falling further behind the United States and China.
“We need to stay in the race. Because this is crucial for our independence,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said last month.
About 20% of companies in the 27-country bloc used AI last year. That figure rose to 55% among the biggest businesses, though most still use it for simple tasks.
Europe holds around 5% of the world’s data centre capacity. The United States has about 75% and China about 15%, according to Andrea Renda, director of research at the CEPS think tank.
The EU is spending billions on AI gigafactories. These sites combine advanced AI processors with energy-efficient data centres for companies and research labs.
Renda said that may not be enough. “If you only build data-centre capacity, you have not done much,” he told AFP.
The EU says it is working on several fronts. It has appointed a Siemens executive to help manufacturers adopt AI under a strategy called “Apply AI.”
Renda said that strategy has “zero” dedicated budget.
Ireland’s Data Centre Strain
Ireland is already home to many US tech giants due to its tax policies and location. It has one of the highest AI adoption rates in the EU.
But its reliance on US companies runs against the EU’s goal of tech independence. The fast growth of data centres is also straining the country’s power grid.
Data centres used 23% of Ireland’s electricity last year, according to the Central Statistics Office. That is as much as all Irish households combined.
Patrick Bresnihan, a researcher at Maynooth University, called it “a world record.” Speaking at a counter-summit held days before the main event, he said data centres employ only 3,300 people in total.
Bresnihan called for a pause on new data centre development in Ireland. He said this would give policymakers time to plan a greener industrial strategy.
Neil Bennett, a former translator, also spoke at the protest event. He lost his job to AI and then took work as a data operator, only to see that job replaced by AI as well.
He urged Irish leaders “to recognise the human impact of AI on workers in Ireland.”
Wednesday’s summit will include Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis, Microsoft President Brad Smith, and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen. Prime Minister Micheal Martin is expected to promote Ireland as a hub for AI development.
