Blockchain and artificial intelligence identified as crucial technologies for European research and universities
The Council of the EU has underscored the need for a digital transformation of the bloc to aid research and distance learning as the EU looks to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ministers from member states said in a report on 9 June that technologies including “very high-capacity” broadband, blockchain, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing were essential in the coronavirus-driven shift to remote working, especially for research and the distance learning that had been forced on many universities.
“Acceleration of the digital transformation will be an essential component of the EU’s response to the economic crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” they wrote.
Despite the need for “fast and ubiquitous connectivity”, many regions still lack high-capacity digital infrastructure, they warned. The ministers called on the European Commission and member states to facilitate the “accelerated rollout” of 5G and to award spectrum frequencies for this by the end of 2020.
And while they supported the development of artificial intelligence in the fight against coronavirus, ministers cautioned about the risks of the technology, citing the potential misuse of facial recognition. They stressed the importance of “anonymised and aggregated mobility data” to track the spread of Covid-19, adding that such tools must be accessible and interoperable.