Priorities and the path to a true AI continent
Dr Farshad Badie, the Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science and Informatics at the Berlin School of Business and Innovation, explores the priorities of DG Connect and the journey toward establishing a genuine AI continent as Europe shapes its digital future
We are now well into 2026, and the European Union (EU) is at a turning point on its digital path. It can be said that the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect) – stands right at the centre of this. It guides not only today’s digital landscape but also the future we are building and developing together.
The question is what their central focus is. Pushing artificial intelligence (AI) innovation hard, getting the most (knowledge) out of our data resources, keeping digital infrastructure solid and connected, and spreading real digital skills everywhere. And, of course, doing all this while building technological independence, sharpening competitiveness, and holding tight to societal values as well as to human rights-based principles.
What strikes me most is how much of this is about people and, in fact, about putting people first. There is no doubt that technology has to support well-being and dignity; it is surely not just about running faster or cheaper.
EU AI policy
For DG Connect, trustworthy AI is the core. They back frontier work with serious funding – think Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme – and shape regulations that put ethics at the forefront. I believe that the goal is clear; AI should boost (and enhance) what humans do best, handle risks carefully, stay transparent and inclusive, and keep people in oversight. It’s taken directly from the EU AI Act, which is now being implemented in stages.
Then there’s the European Strategy for AI in Science. It actually links perfectly to the dream of making the EU a real AI continent. This strategy launched RAISE – the Resource for AI Science in Europe – as a kind of virtual institute.
RAISE pulls together computing power, data, talent, and funding from across Member States and even private partners. It’s meant to spark breakthroughs in crucial areas, e.g., better cancer treatments, climate modelling, earthquake predictions, and energy solutions. It builds on the Apply AI Strategy efforts but zeros in on science itself.
In my view, such a connection matters a lot. The AI continent action plan, emerging from the 2025 Action Plan, envisions Europe as the place where AI is developed, used, and scaled responsibly. We’re talking doubled research funding, AI factories (at least, 13–19 planned or rolling out), and even bigger gigafactories on the horizon. Europe’s edge? Our talent pool is outstanding, our ethical rules are strict, and we care deeply about human beings’ and societies’ values.
RAISE pushes cross-border teamwork, opens data access, insists on responsible use – especially tackling those training data problems that lead to biases, issues, or cultural blind spots when everything comes from outside Europe. I’ve seen this firsthand in my own research and teaching: unbalanced data creates skewed systems that don’t reflect real diversity. I highly believe that it’s a matter of ‘reflection of proper representative data.’
AI science and research
As an educational leader who daily works on humancentred AI, information philosophy, and the preparation of the next generation of leaders, I find this direction both exciting and absolutely necessary. We can’t keep teaching computer and data science the old way – pure coding, isolated algorithms. It has to become hybrid and hands-on, where AI is a real partner in thinking.
In our classes at BSBI, for example, we use adaptive tools that personalise paths, run ethical business simulations (supply chains that factor in fairness, market forecasts that question biases), and prompt students to reflect: What assumptions are we carrying? How does this affect people? This kind of learning builds technical depth alongside empathy, inclusivity, and collective strategy – things companies need now more than ever under
rules like the AI Act.
Science needs the same shift. AI must support human insight, weave in cultural awareness and equity from the beginning and initiation. Otherwise, we end up with efficient tools that miss the human side. The AI Act helps by forcing risk checks and oversight for high-risk cases, opening real chances to build in those values early. But it shall be stressed that we need to have ongoing conversations – developers, ethicists, policymakers, everyday users – and constant ethical reviews with actual feedback. Anything less, and even good regulation becomes paperwork rather than real change.
DG Connect’s priorities
DG Connect’s priorities, together with the AI in Science Strategy and RAISE pilots, are sketching a roadmap for an AI continent that innovates boldly but responsibly. Investing in trustworthy systems, better links, ethical, inclusive designs – this can fuel fair growth, protect dignity, and make progress that counts. We educators and researchers have to keep championing approaches centred on students: blending code with creativity, critical thought, and human values. Only then will our graduates lead changes that truly lift society.
At the end of the day, Europe’s digital future depends on this broader commitment – not just to smarter technologies, but to a genuine dedication to ethics, meaning, and what makes us human beings.