Analysis of Apply AI Strategy: AI comes in many shapes but where is the vision?
The European Commission unveiled its Apply AI strategy. The starting point is clear enough: only 13.5% of European companies currently use AI, and among SMEs, the share is even lower. The key question is: Will this new strategy improve those figures?
The underlying problem
The Commission continues to treat AI as if it were a Sriracha bottle — something that can simply be added to everything for an extra kick. The strategy identifies 11 areas and sprinkles €1 billion across them, naturally expecting to leverage significant private investments.
The problem with this approach is that it is overly constructive and predictable. It focuses on the usual suspect sectors (automotive, anyone?), while overlooking the innovation potential that emerges when different industries intersect and technologies converge.
To reach smaller companies, the Commission relies on its network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), established during the previous term. This is understandable but places significant new responsibilities on entities whose ground game is still being defined and whose national co-funding remains to be resecured.
Moreover, the strategy lacks a solid data foundation. The recent Digital Decade reports worrying trends, and despite the Data Act entering into application just a month ago, the strategy fails to seize this moment. The gradual opening of industrial data could have been the perfect opportunity to ensure that valuable datasets flow into the hands of innovative developers across sectors. The upcoming Data Union Strategy will need to close these gaps.
Limited ambition
The overall design and resourcing of the strategy suggests it will not trigger a major shift in Europe’s digital development. It lacks clear, actionable measures and performance indicators.
Technology Industries of Finland has proposed an alternative approach: building the acceleration of data and AI use on company-driven networks similar to those operating in the Nordic countries. Peer networks such as AI Finland and AI Sweden work across sectors through a simple model — matchmaking, shared learning and value creation. They allow companies to jointly address challenges related to data and AI, exchange experiences and share knowledge of available technological and organisational solutions, even regulatory interpretation issues can be solved collaboratively.
A few positives
To its credit, the strategy does not launch yet another grand public-sector-led initiative. It also builds most of its data components on the already initiated Data Spaces framework of the Data Act rather than on new Data Labs proposed in the AI Continent Action Plan. This is good as the development in companies starts from data and the objective is better productivity and new revenue streams. The Data Spaces should serve as catalysts for development of best practices, standards and agreements among companies.
When it comes to regulation, the strategy rightly acknowledges the legal jungle surrounding European AI developers and deployers and pledges to support the rollout of compliance tools but fails to identify concrete areas for simplification or reform. Hopefully, the forthcoming Digital Omnibus will prove the sceptics wrong.
Conclusion
So, does the Apply AI Strategy promise to raise Europe’s modest digital adoption figures? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Achieving that would have required a cross-sectoral approach, a set of clearly defined investment and demand-driving measures and decisive steps to untangle Europe’s regulatory maze.
For more information
Mäkinen Jussi
Deputy Director, EU and Public Affairs – Public Affairs Technology Industries of Finland