· comment of the week

Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations have achieved remarkable economic convergence with Western Europe since joining the EU. The region’s two-decade sprint from post-socialist economies to the EU’s high-tech factory floor was breathtaking. But the growth model of being the “extended workbench” for Western industry is hitting a hard ceiling. The strategy of making things […]

The European Commission’s “Apply AI Strategy” was launched last week, aiming to boost Europe’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty. It’s a document with some solid, pragmatic ideas, but it also seems to sidestep the billion-euro questions and underlying systemic problems. Here’s a quick rundown: The Good (The Pragmatic Play) Smart Targeting: The strategy focuses on applying […]

In a move that has the Balkans, and indeed the world, raising a collective eyebrow, Albania has appointed the world’s first-ever AI minister. Not a “minister for AI” – there are plenty of those around the globe. This one actually IS an AI.  Named ‘Diella’, which fittingly means ‘sun’ in Albanian, this virtual minister is […]

Last week we covered the different approaches to national and regional AI strategies around the world. Strategies are of course very important – it’s difficult to achieve desirable outcomes without a clear vision and an actionable roadmap.  However, in the world of policy, there exists one simple truth that politicians and bureaucrats often ignore: even […]