European Union leaders gather in Dublin on Friday for their first ever EU AI summit. The meeting will debate how the bloc can step up its efforts in artificial intelligence. Leaders will also tackle funding issues and other problems.

The talks come amid mounting worries about AI. The technology promises to transform industries and societies. However, in recent months it has caused alarm after a series of incidents involving rogue AI agents.

Leaders will also assess how to overcome other problems, such as red tape. In addition, they will look at how to set guardrails for the technology.

European Council President Antonio Costa explained the reasoning in an invitation letter to EU leaders last week. “Given the rapid pace of AI development, I believe that a first dedicated discussion, at leaders’ level, is now needed on the opportunities presented by AI, as well as on its transformative effect on our economies and societies,” he wrote.

Mistral AI chief executive Arthur Mensch and Nobel Prize-winning AI researcher Geoffrey Hinton will brief the leaders.

Ahead of the EU AI summit, the need for action is clear. The bloc will have to ramp up its efforts if it is to be an AI player.

The Chips Act, implemented three years ago, looks likely to fall short of its goal. The initiative aimed to attract advanced manufacturing and double the bloc’s share of the global chip market to 20% by 2030.

A separate plan faces delays as well. It involves building seven AI gigafactories. Each would house advanced AI processors, software, cloud technology, high-speed connectivity and data centres under one roof.

The plan has yet to fully take off. EU countries are fighting over spending on competitiveness in the bloc’s 2028-2034 budget.

Overall, the EU AI summit gives leaders a first chance to discuss funding, red tape and guardrails for AI at the highest level.

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