The Cyber Policy Center is hosting an insightful seminar titled "Europe's AI Future: The EU's Plan to Produce AI Technology People Can Trust," featuring Joanna Smolinska. Scheduled for May 27th from 1 PM to 2 PM Pacific Time, this event marks the conclusion of the Spring Seminar Series, with the series resuming in the fall. Stanford affiliates have a special invitation to join for lunch at 12:40 PM before the seminar commences.

The European Union, a diverse bloc of 27 nations with distinct languages and legal systems, is widely recognized for its comprehensive regulatory frameworks. However, less acknowledged is the pro-innovation impact of its EU-level regulations, which, similar to federal rules in the US, establish a unified set of standards. This harmonization enables companies to access a vast market of 450 million consumers and numerous businesses.

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the global AI race is intensifying, with new investments in AI infrastructure announced frequently worldwide. The EU is actively participating by mobilizing public and private partnerships to channel billions of Euros into AI industrial uptake and the development of supercomputers, referred to as 'AI factories' and 'giga-factories'. These facilities are intended to provide commercial access to computational resources, with startups and researchers potentially gaining free or subsidized access.

The seminar aims to explore critical questions surrounding the EU's AI ambitions. These include how the EU plans to transition from primarily using AI technology developed elsewhere to building its own, the sources of funding for essential compute power and talent, and whether its approach to AI regulation will foster a "race to the top," making human-centric technology a commercially viable and competitive proposition. Furthermore, it will address strategies to simplify compliance for innovators, who often face challenges in scaling their work due to regulatory fragmentation and limited access to capital.

Joanna Smolinska's talk will delve into the EU's comprehensive strategy to offer its citizens the best of both worlds in artificial intelligence. This vision encompasses producing AI technology that is trustworthy, capable of addressing contemporary societal, economic, and environmental challenges, operates under democratic oversight, and supports innovators in scaling their solutions both within the continent and globally.

Joanna Smolinska has served as the Counsellor for Digital and Deputy Head of the EU Office in San Francisco since its inauguration on September 1, 2022. Her work primarily focuses on AI policy and regulation, online content moderation, and policies designed to promote digital market openness and innovation within the framework of transatlantic relations. She actively forges cooperation with California's civil society, businesses, academia, and government.

Prior to her role in San Francisco, Ms. Smolinska accumulated 15 years of experience at the European Commission in Brussels, contributing to a diverse array of policy areas. Within DG CNECT, the Commission's department for EU tech policy, she concentrated on digital and green transformation, digital services and copyright regulations, tech standardization, digital skills, blockchain technology, and supporting technology startups and scale-ups. Notably, she was actively involved in the development of the landmark EU Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act.

Of Polish nationality, Joanna Smolinska is an alumna of the Warsaw School of Economics. She holds a Master’s Degree in Finance from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and another Master’s Degree in European Law and Economic Analysis from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Adding to her credentials, Ms. Smolinska is a Non-resident Fellow with the Transatlantic Leadership Program and the Digital Innovation Initiative at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), and a Tech Policy Fellow of the 2024-25 cohort at UC Berkeley.