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Dear Commissioner,
Rector,
Dear guests.
It is a great pleasure for me to take part in welcoming you all to this first AI Summit here in Copenhagen.
This gathering marks an important moment. Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant concept.
It is a driving force of science, innovation and societal change.
And the fact that we meet here today – hundreds of scientists and experts from across Europe – shows that AI is no longer a technology of the future. It is our present. It is already shaping the world we live in.
The great scientist, Marie Curie, once said – and I quote:
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
And speaking as someone who honestly has been slightly weary of this new technology and its potential consequences, this quote captures precisely why we are here today. To understand more. And to fear less.
Because AI is already transforming the world around us.
Across every field of research from climate science to medicine, from quantum technologies to the humanities, AI is transforming how we ask questions, how we interpret data and how we discover new knowledge.
It allows us to see patterns we could not see before, to simulate what we cannot test in the lab and to collaborate across borders and disciplines in ways that were impossible just a few years ago.
AI cannot – and should not – replace scientific curiosity. But it is amplifying it.
And that is why research in AI and research with AI must go hand in hand.
Guided by European values
As AI becomes more powerful it also prompts some important questions: Who builds it? Who controls it? Whose values does it reflect?
In Europe, we believe that science should serve people – not the other way around. That principle must also guide our approach to AI.
The European Commission has recently presented a Communication on AI in science. One of the key ideas is the creation of a virtual institute for the development of AI.
A network that brings together the best researchers across Europe.
This is an important step towards what you could call an AI plan for the entire continent.
A plan that ensures that Europe is not only a user of technologies developed elsewhere, but a creator of world-class AI systems.
The goal, as I see it, is AI rooted in European science, powered by European talent and guided by European values.
And this also ties into our strategical autonomy.
We cannot afford to depend entirely on technologies developed outside our own borders.
We need to master the key technologies that will define the century: AI, quantum computing, biotechnology and space.
These are tools for competitiveness. But they are also the foundations of sovereignty, of scientific freedom, of security and of progress.
So as we develop AI, we must make sure that it carries the ethical DNA of Europe: transparency, responsibility and respect for human dignity.
That is what makes our approach unique – and it is our strength.
Today’s summit is the first of its kind but I am certain it will not be the last.
It shows that the conversation about AI in science is both necessary and urgent.
AI will not disappear. It will evolve. The question is whether we will shape that evolution or let it shape us.
I believe we can shape it together. Together, we can ensure that AI reflects the best of our knowledge and the best of our values.
Together we can ensure a future where we understand more and fear less.
Thank you.