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Experts say artificial intelligence has the potential to bring great benefits to European researchers, but many obstacles remain — including a lack of trust.

At a Science|Business conference on how European research and innovation can benefit from AI, Lucilla Sioli, Director for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry at the European Commission, said one major challenge is the low “acceptance” of AI by European SMEs. This is partly due to ethical concerns around AI, such as worries about algorithmic opacity or bias. Could a unique approach based on clear ethical principles strengthen Europe’s position?

To address the limited adoption of AI, the European Commission established a High-Level Expert Group on AI (HLG) in June last year. The group, composed of 52 experts from academia, industry, and civil society, was tasked with identifying principles that developers and users should follow to ensure trustworthy AI. “The goal is to change the mindset of AI developers — to make them ask the right questions and take concrete actions,” Sioli added.

Loubna Bouarfa, member of the HLG and CEO of Okra Technologies, believes that clear ethical guidelines can foster stakeholder cooperation and unlock Europe’s potential. Okra’s technology helps healthcare professionals integrate complex datasets and generate real-time, evidence-based insights.

However, Davide Bacciu, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Pisa, pointed out that following a “European model” of trustworthy AI rooted in ethics and transparency could have profound implications for AI development in Europe. “Of course, this may limit the scope of AI and even slow down our progress. We need to be clear about the model we’re choosing.”

Still, there is consensus that researchers need a better understanding of AI — which, in Bacciu’s words, can seem like “black magic.” Erik Schultes, VP of Research Product Management, Search and Applied Services at Elsevier, said that demystifying AI could accelerate research and innovation in Europe.

The panel emphasized the importance of training researchers to broaden their perspective, recognize AI’s potential, and acquire the skills needed to integrate it into their work. The limited adoption of AI may also be linked to Europe’s relatively weak computing sector. Sioli stressed that in the current geopolitical climate, it is essential for Europe to achieve self-sufficiency and gain “technological sovereignty.”

There is no doubt that the sheer volume of research output — over a million publications annually — along with the explosion of data and growing interdisciplinarity, is overwhelming researchers. Rose L’Huillier, VP of Reading Product Management at Elsevier, said AI can help address this information overload. She introduced two AI tools developed by Elsevier: one offers a quick scientific overview on a given topic; the other predicts whether a user would be interested in a specific article, significantly reducing search time.

Looking ahead, Geleyn Meijer, President of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, predicted that AI will transform many academic disciplines. Business research will evolve into “digital business research,” and the social sciences will become “digital social sciences.” However, Meijer emphasized that the timeline for this generational shift remains unclear, as some researchers are still reluctant to frame their work through the lens of AI. He described Europe’s relationship with AI as undergoing a “midlife crisis.”