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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EL link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US>European Researchers organize the “European Vision for AI” event for the General Public about the Present and Future of Artificial Intelligence in Europe<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US>The European scientific community will share with the general public their actions towards moving European Artificial Intelligence (AI) forward, to future success in a growing competition environment with countries such as the US or China, in the “European Vision for AI'' event. The online discussions are scheduled for Thursday 22 April 2021 and organized by the <a name="_Hlk69573256"></a><a href="https://www.vision4ai.eu/"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk69573256'><span style='color:#1155CC'>VISION project</span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk69573256'></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk69573256'></span> partners in cooperation with four networks of AI centres of excellence (<a href="https://www.ai4media.eu/">AI4Media</a>, <a href="https://www.elise-ai.eu/">ELISE</a>, <a href="https://tailor-network.eu/">TAILOR</a>, <a href="https://www.humane-ai.eu/">Humane-AI-Net</a>). These networks were launched within the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Program in September 2020 and are bringing together scientists across Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US>In the event, European citizens with an interest in AI will gain an overview of Europe's position in the field of AI and how this impacts Europe's economy and society. The "European approach to AI" that is currently being promoted brings together excellence and trust, with the goal of creating a world-leading ecosystem committed to the "AI for Good" and "AI for All" concepts. Since this event is coordinated with, and closely linked to, the official announcement on new regulations and further investment in AI, scheduled by the European Commission in this week, the event will represent one of the first opportunities for public discussion on these new plans at the European level. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US>Prof. Holger Hoos</span></b><span lang=EN-US> (Leiden University, Netherlands), coordinator of the VISION Project<span style='color:black'> sees this event as a step towards closer communication of the European AI community with the general public: <i>“We aim to get young people, researchers, innovators, companies, and policy makers, at least virtually, around one table and discuss ambitious European plans for AI as well as the emerging ecosystem of AI excellence.”</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US>Prof. Ioannis Pitas</span></b><span lang=EN-US> (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece), Coordinator of the International AI Doctoral Academy (<a href="http://www.i-aida.org/">AIDA</a>) and event panelist on ‘Skills & Training’ believes that:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><i><span lang=EN-US>“AI education should be anthropocentric and tuned to form true thinkers and Knowledge Society citizens. A major education overhaul is needed, combining scientific basis and classical studies, to support AI excellence for an European AI brand.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US>Starting at 11am, the event will be fully online, streamed at <a href="http://event.vision4ai.eu"><b><span style='color:#1155CC'>event.vision4ai.eu</span></b></a> for free and with no prior registration. The program will be conducted in English. The public will be able to enter discussions via chat. Participants will also get the opportunity to choose from three parallel sessions focusing on society, industry and skills & training, depending on their particular interests. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p style='margin:0in;text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US style='color:black'>About organisers</span></b><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US style='color:black'>This event is organised by the consortium of partners of the project VISION (<a href="http://www.vision4ai.eu">www.vision4ai.eu</a>), the coordination and support action (CSA) awarded under the<span style='background:white'> </span></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020_ICT-48-2020"><span style='color:#1155CC;background:white'>H2020-ICT-48-2020 call</span></a><span style='color:black;background:white'>. The aim of VISION is to reinforce, interconnect and mobilise Europe’s AI community. Europe has been investing in the European model of AI, with a new set of four </span><a href="https://www.vision4ai.eu/community/"><span style='color:#1155CC;background:white'>European networks of AI excellence centres</span></a><span style='color:black;background:white'>. Launched in September 2020, these four networks of excellence centres - AI4Media, ELISE, HumanE-AI-Net and TAILOR - are now working on various aspects of trustworthy, human-centric AI. In parallel to these efforts, the VISION project aims to create connections, synergy and joint initiatives between these networks as well as with key stakeholders across Europe. These projects are key components in the European Commission's AI strategy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US>Prof. Holger Hoos (Leiden University, Netherlands), coordinator of the VISION Project</span><span lang=EN><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN-US>Prof. Ioannis Pitas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece), Coordinator of the International AI Doctoral Academy (<a href="http://www.i-aida.org/">AIDA</a>) and AI4Media project<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br />
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