EU leaders discuss how to boost Europe's AI industry while tackling risks at Dublin summit

European leaders together with Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton discussed how Europe can build its AI industry while making sure the technology is developed responsibly.

EU leaders gathered on Friday for their first ever AI summit, where they discussed how Europe can strike a balance between catching up with the US and China while protecting citizens from the growing risks posed by the technology.

That delicate balancing act took centre stage at the informal summit in Dublin, Ireland, where they were joined by the head of top European AI firm Mistral, Arthur Mensch, and Nobel-prize winner Geoffrey Hinton, widely known as one of the "godfathers" of AI.

The talks are part of the bloc's effort to reduce its reliance on foreign technology and services.

When US CEOs including OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei made calls this year to slow down AI development, Mistral urged Europe to steam ahead.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said before the talks began that the leaders would explore "the balance between regulation and innovation, tech sovereignty how Europe can interact with developments in AI across the world".

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola said she was tired of hearing that the EU had "somehow lost the AI race".

Copyright for this text belongs to Euronews.