embrAIsme - Improving conditions and policies for SMEs to embrace AI

The aws is the lead partner of the EU project embrAIsme within the framework of the Interreg Europe program. The program has a duration of four years and started in April 2024. The consortium consists of a total of ten partner organizations from eight different European regions. Further information about the project, the partner organizations, the addressed policy instruments, and the latest developments can be found at Interreg Europe.

Objectives:

The overall objective of embrAIsme is to improve policies and programmes for encouraging the uptake of AI by SMEs regardless of their location, size and sector. The project’s specific objectives are to:

• Raise awareness of AI and increase data readiness
• Invest in human capita and skills
• Facilitate access to finance
• Foster networking and cooperation
• Strengthen the governance of AI/SME policies
• Better consideration of legal and ethical issues.

By exchanging over 36 good practice examples among regionally strategy-oriented interest groups and implementing the learned lessons in eight regional action plans, embrAIsme aims to be fully aligned with the EU regulatory framework for AI and trustworthy AI. Therefore, embrAIsme will also closely follow ongoing work on AI legislation, aimed at strengthening Europe's position as a global hub for AI from the lab to the market, ensuring that AI in Europe respects our values and rules, and harnessing AI's potential for industrial use.

What will this project change?

Artificial intelligence (AI), the driver of the next wave of digitization, has come to the forefront and is seen as a key factor in the digital transformation of society. The use of AI has led to remarkable changes in various economic sectors such as healthcare, industry, commerce, and transportation, offering significant productivity and efficiency gains. A survey by the European Commission in 2020 shows that awareness of AI is almost ubiquitous, with companies divided into two camps: proponents (42%), who currently use at least one AI technology, and non-proponents (40%). 39% of large companies in the EU use two or more AI technologies, while only 21% of micro-enterprises and 22% of small enterprises do so.

The embrAIsme project aims to optimize strategies and programs to promote the adoption of AI by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) regardless of their location, size, or sector. This will significantly improve the conditions for the implementation of AI solutions in the companies' processes in the eight participating countries.