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Lack of funding leaves Dutch AI lagging

Jessica Vermeer
Reading time: 6 minutes

Several initiatives to promote AI research in the Netherlands have emerged over the past two years. Bits&Chips asked foremen Max Welling, Frank van Harmelen and Maarten de Rijke to highlight the importance of artificial intelligence for Dutch economy and Dutch society.

There are three major players on the worldwide AI stage: China, the US and Europe. America has been leading in investments. China is quickly catching up as a top contender, specializing in machine learning – which is also the main focus of the US. The power of Europe stems from its broad basis.

“Europe has a strong history in artificial intelligence,” says Frank van Harmelen, a professor in the AI department at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). “To this day, most publications on AI originate in Europe.” However, Europe is highly divided. In China, investments are led by a centralistic state, whereas in the US, the investments come from big tech companies like Google and Microsoft. The European Committee decided large investments in AI are necessary for Europe to keep up with the Americans and the Chinese.

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