In the run-up to the Dutch national elections, a broad coalition of experts have released an opinion piece calling on political leaders to invest in building a robust, national AI infrastructure and retaining AI talent in the Netherlands.
The signatories of the appeal believe that AI – one of the key Digital and Information Technologies in Topsector ICT’s portfolio – will determine the next geopolitical and economic leaders over the coming decades. According to the AI experts, action needs to be taken now to avoid becoming reliant on AI powers such as the US and China. This requires vision, structural investments and ambitious projects to attract and retain leading talent, as put forward in the experts’ AI Plan.
More urgency required
‘There’s a promising number of projects in the pipeline, including an AI factory in Groningen that has attracted 200 million euros in investments, of which 70 million in EU funding, and the plan by entrepreneur and investor Han de Groot to build an AI giga factory near Rotterdam in collaboration with Eneco. These initiatives are fantastic, but we need more of them. There needs to be a greater sense of urgency,’ says Frits Grotenhuis, director of Topsector ICT.
He welcomes the continued growth in interdisciplinary collaboration. ‘I’m delighted that businesses, knowledge institutes and government bodies are increasingly working together and prioritising AI in the Netherlands.’ A good example of this is the Action Agenda for AI/Data, currently being coordinated by Topsector ICT in close collaboration with stakeholders including the Ministry of Economic Affairs, AIC4NL, the Centre of Excellence for Data Sharing & Cloud, businesses and education and research institutes. The AiNed growth fund, coordinated by AIC4NL, is another case in point of substantial activities taking place right now.
National Technology Strategy
‘This Action Agenda is rooted in the National Technology Strategy (NTS). The strategy sets out ten key Digital and Information Technologies, including AI/Data and Cybersecurity Technologies, and is aligned with the ambitions of the signatories of the appeal. We wholeheartedly support the appeal and the way it allows us all to reduce fragmentation,’ says Grotenhuis.
Broad support
The appeal has received over 200 signatures, including from Adriaan Mol (founder of Mollie), Alexander Klöpping (founder of Blendle and Universiteit van Nederland), Arre Zuurmond (former Government Commissioner for Information Management at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations), Constantijn van Oranje (Special Envoy at Techleap), Haroon Sheikh (senior researcher at the Scientific Council for Government Policy and Professor of Strategic Governance of Global Technologies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Pieter Zwart (CEO of Coolblue), Ronald Prins (co-founder and CEO of Hunt & Hacket) Rutger Bregman (historian, author and founder of the School for Moral Ambition).
Political dialogue
According to posts on LinkedIn, co-initiator Jelle Printer will soon meet various political partners to share and explain his and co-initiators’ observations so far, their expectations for the near future and their recommendations for the next steps.