EU looks to Ireland as it pushes to close AI gap

The EU is using an international AI summit in Dublin to underline a more assertive push to compete with the United States and China while maintaining stronger governance over the technology. Ursula von der Leyen has framed the effort as essential to European independence, and senior executives and officials including Demis Hassabis, Brad Smith and Henna Virkkunen are expected to attend.

Adoption remains uneven across the bloc. Some 20 percent of companies in the 27-country bloc used AI last year, rising to 55 percent among the biggest businesses, though many deployments remain limited to simpler tasks. Europe also has around five percent of global data-centre capacity, compared with around 75 percent in the United States and approximately 15 percent in China.

The EU is investing in AI gigafactories built around advanced processors and energy-efficient data centres, while also pursuing an “Apply AI” strategy to encourage manufacturers to adopt the technology. Andrea Renda of CEPS warned that capacity alone will not be enough and criticized the strategy for having “zero” dedicated budget.

Ireland illustrates both the promise and the tensions. Data centres accounted for 23 percent of the country’s electricity consumption last year, matching all Irish households combined, while critics note the sector employs only 3,300 people and raises concerns over infrastructure, sovereignty and worker displacement.