EU Looks to Ireland to Accelerate AI Adoption

LONDON: (News Desk) – The European Union is looking to Ireland’s experience with artificial intelligence (AI) as it seeks to strengthen its position in the global technology race, with the country’s rapid expansion of data centres offering both lessons and warnings.

Ireland hosted an international AI summit in Dublin on Wednesday, highlighting its ambitions to remain at the forefront of technological innovation and help drive wider adoption of AI across Europe.

While the EU is developing strict rules to manage the risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems, it also recognises the need to invest in the technology and maximise its economic potential. The bloc is seeking to narrow the gap with the United States and China, which remain ahead in several areas of AI development.

“We need to make AI real for our competitiveness and for our industries,” EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen told the conference. The event brought together leading figures from the technology sector, including Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis and Microsoft President Brad Smith.

Around 20 per cent of companies across the EU’s 27 member states used AI last year, while adoption among the largest businesses reached 55 per cent. European policymakers want these figures to rise as they push companies to integrate AI into their operations. However, research suggests that many businesses still rely on the technology for relatively basic tasks.

Europe also faces a significant infrastructure gap. Andrea Renda, research director at the CEPS think tank, said the continent accounts for approximately five per cent of global data centre capacity, compared with around 75 per cent in the United States and 15 per cent in China.

To address the shortfall, the EU is investing billions of euros in planned AI gigafactories equipped with advanced processors and energy-efficient data centres designed to support businesses and research institutions.

However, experts warn that expanding infrastructure alone will not guarantee success. Renda told AFP that simply increasing data centre capacity would achieve little without broader policy changes and effective leadership. He called for political leaders to identify the barriers and opportunities affecting the adoption of AI across the European economy.

The EU says it is pursuing several initiatives, including directing funding from existing programmes towards AI development and appointing a Siemens executive to encourage manufacturers to adopt the technology under its “Apply AI” strategy.

Renda, however, criticised the initiative for having no dedicated budget, warning that Europe would struggle to achieve its ambitions without decisive intervention.

Ireland’s AI ambitions face growing criticism

Ireland, which has attracted numerous major US technology companies through its tax policies and strategic location, hopes to play a leading role in accelerating Europe’s AI development.

“We have been to the forefront of every tech wave over recent decades, and we will be to the forefront of this one,” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin told the summit.

Despite its strong AI adoption rate, Ireland also illustrates the economic, environmental and social challenges associated with the technology boom. Its dependence on American technology companies raises questions about the EU’s ambitions to strengthen its digital sovereignty, while the rapid growth of data centres is placing mounting pressure on national infrastructure, particularly the electricity grid.

According to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, data centres consumed 23 per cent of the country’s electricity last year, equivalent to the combined consumption of Irish households.

Patrick Bresnihan, a researcher at Maynooth University, described the figure as a “world record”. He also highlighted the limited employment opportunities created by the sector, saying the country’s data centres employed just 3,300 people in total.

Speaking at a counter-summit held several days before Wednesday’s gathering, Bresnihan called for a temporary halt to further data centre development in Ireland. He argued that a moratorium would give policymakers time to consider a more environmentally sustainable and socially beneficial industrial strategy.

Concerns about AI’s impact on employment also featured prominently at the protest event. Neil Bennett, a former technology worker, urged Irish leaders and senior officials to acknowledge how the technology is affecting workers across the country.

Bennett, who previously worked as a translator, said AI had significantly disrupted his career. After losing his job because of the technology, he moved into data operations, describing the transition as crossing “to the dark side”.

However, he soon faced the same problem again when his new job was also replaced by AI, highlighting concerns that automation could continue to displace workers even in roles created in response to technological change.