The European Commission’s directorate for research and innovation has set up a new unit to develop EU policy on artificial intelligence in science and industry.
The unit ‘E4: Industry 5.0 and AI in science’ is one of the big changes in a reshuffle at DG RTD that was expected since chief Marc Lemaitre and the new commissioner Iliana Ivanova took over research and innovation policy leadership at the Commission.
The revamped RTD will lead the process of outlining the next seven-year EU research programme, FP10, which is beginning in earnest. In the coming weeks, the Commission will announce who will make up its independent advisory group on FP10, the so-called new Lamy group.
organisation-chart_dg-rtd_en_0.pdf (europa.eu)
Overall, the unit will deal with new policy on how to apply AI to accelerate productivity in science without compromising integrity, as well as implement an action plan for Industry 5.0, an employment model where people will word alongside robots and smart machines to boost productivity.
What else is changing?
The rest of the reshuffle will shift priorities between different units in DG RTD’s directorates B, C and D that deal with green, health and societal transition policies.
In directorate B, Healthy Planet, the unit for circular economy and biobased systems, headed by Pavel Misiga, will now be called green transitions.
Directorate C, Clean Planet, will see the biggest changes among the three. It will no longer have a unit for ecological and social transitions. Its chief Bernd Biervert will now head the new clean energy transitions unit.
The previous head of the unit for clean energy transition, Helene Chraye, will become DG RTD’s adviser for the Bill Gates-led Mission Innovation effort on clean energy materials.
Philippe Froissard, head of former unit for future urban and mobility systems, will now lead a unit for strategy, policy, coordination and urban transitions.
The low emission future industries unit led by Jane Amilhat will now be the clean transport transitions unit.
In directorate C, responsible for health and society, there’s a new unit for health and societal transitions, headed by Henriette Van Eijl. She was previously in charge of the economic and social transitions. The new unit replaces the fair societies and cultural heritage unit. Topics related to culture will be handled in by the newly renamed democracy, equality and culture unit headed by Katja Reppel.