A top executive from tech giant Nvidia called on Europe to step up in the global race to develop artificial intelligence (AI) during an exclusive interview with Euronews Next at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon.
Rev Lebaredian, the company’s vice president of omniverse and simulation technology, said that for Europe to keep up with the United States and China in artificial intelligence (AI) development, it needs to have the foundational infrastructure that allows researchers and entrepreneurs to build the technology.
“Without the AI factories and without the energy to power them, it won’t matter how much talent is available here [Europe]. But if Europe chooses to do this, then it certainly can be leading,” he said.
Europe “should be a centre for AI, computer science, and all technology, but Europe has to participate,” Lebaredian added.
The European Commission announced last month that it would be adding more AI factories to its remit, giving the bloc a total of 19. AI factories are a type of data centre and the infrastructure that produces AI capabilities at scale.
Lebaredian said Europe will also struggle to meet the high energy demands that AI requires, especially as energy is generally more expensive than elsewhere in the world.
He said this is a “choice that Europe can make in terms of building out new energy”.
There are diverse sources of energy that are being used for AI in Europe, including nuclear, hydroelectric, and renewables,…