As you will know by now, the European Commission published their AI Act describing what a horizontal legislation for AI will likely look like in the EU. The proposal is now with the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for discussion. I (Charlotte) spent time conducting research on the AI Act which was too in-depth for the newsletter, so decided to skip the last edition.

IBM unveiled its first quantum computer  in Germany, which is apparently "Europe's most powerful quantum computer in the industrial context." Researchers from TU Munich published a paper on 'End-to-end privacy preserving deep learning on multi-institutional medical imaging'. The Canada-European Union Summit concluded this week with commitments to strengthen collaboration on tech and innovation, promote shared values, fight climate change and promote international peace and security. A number of actions have been agreed upon by European Ministers for Media to tackle issues surrounding freedom of expression. This includes better standards for AI tools used in content moderation and distribution.

The European Commission and the OECD will host a joint event next week where an updated AI Watch report (on national AI strategies) and the OECD report (on national AI policies) will be introduced. Tune in here.

On Tuesday, the EU and the US launched a Trade and Tech council (TTC). The main goals are e.g. to cooperate on policies, supply chains and research; promote leadership by US and EU companies; and, increase investment as well as deepen bilateral trade.

Crucially, the TTC will also strengthen cooperation on the development of standards for emerging technologies and enforce cooperation on regulatory policy (presumably, related to the European Commission’s AI Act). Initially, the TTC will consist of several working groups tackling the aforementioned topics and coordinating at the political level. All of these working groups are highly relevant to many of the topics this newsletter has discussed over the years and consist of the following: Technology standards cooperation (including AI and the Internet of Things, among other emerging technologies); Climate and green tech (see also the EU’s work to achieve their green and digital transition in the section on the Ecosystem); Secure supply chains, including semiconductors; ICT security and competitiveness; Data governance and technology platforms; The misuse of technology threatening security and human rights; Export controls; Investment screening; Promoting SME access to and use of digital technologies; Global trade challenges.