Google Launches €25 Million AI Education Fund in Europe

Google is establishing a 25 million euro fund to support AI education in Europe, with the aim of training individuals in advanced AI skills.

A support fund of 25 million euros ($26.9 million) will be established by Google to assist with the education and training of Europeans in the area of artificial intelligence (AI).

Europe is about to “lead the way” when it comes to economically exploiting AI, and the AI Opportunity Initiative wants to make sure that its citizens get the training they need to “seize the opportunity of AI” while they’re at it.

We want to play our part in empowering Europe’s workforce, supporting people through change so that everyone can benefit.

According to the tech developer, local companies, especially those serving marginalized groups, would receive “advanced” AI training through this program, which it is launching in collaboration with EU governments, civil society, universities, and enterprises.

To help employees from “being left behind,” over 10 million euros will go toward training and education. Midway through 2023, the Italian government launched a comparable program, investing millions of euros to help employees who were poised to lose their jobs to AI and automation acquire digital skills.

In 2015, Google started an effort called “Grow with Google” that provided free training to assist close the digital skills gap in the European Union. This program, the AI program follows, according to Google. More than 12 million individuals were supposedly trained by the program.

As part of its most recent effort, it has partnered with the Centre for Public Impact to solicit proposals from charities and social entrepreneurs in the European Union (EU) in an effort to increase access to artificial intelligence training.

According to Adrian Brown, the executive director of the Centre for Public Impact, AI could “transform the world” but it could also exacerbate inequality.

This new program will help people across Europe develop their knowledge, skills and confidence around AI, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Additionally, Google has announced that it is enhancing its Google Career Certificates program with more tools to help professionals gain practical experience with AI in the workplace and has increased the number of languages available for its AI fundamental course to 18.

Aiming to regulate the use and development of AI technology within the regions of EU legal jurisdiction, local regulators are currently preparing to finalize the EU AI Act.