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The EU AI Act is at a critical juncture. The question is whether large language models (LLMs) should be regulated at the outset or not. Opposing camps each claim that making the wrong move could jeopardize Europe’s future.

The outcome has potentially larger consequences. “This choice is not a matter of European competitiveness – it represents a foundation stone for responsibly governing our technology-infused future,” says a blog post from the International Center For Future Generations. “Retaining the regulation of foundation models in the AI Act is pivotal: it is a step towards a future where AI is not only technologically sophisticated but also kept in check.”

The issue has split not just European countries but the global AI community, pitting Yann LeCun, one of the three men who shared the 2018 Turing Award – the Nobel Prize of Computing – against the other two, AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoff Hinton.

The divide concerns amendments made by the European Parliament which would subject providers of foundation models, general purpose and/or generative base models that app developers can tap into to build out automation software for specific use-cases, to certain legal requirements.

Those against regulating foundational models include Cedric O, France’s former secretary of state, in charge of digital, as well as LeCun, whose day job is Chief AI Scientist at Meta, one of the few global providers of foundational models. In an op-ed published in Les Echos, Financial Times, Handelsblatt, NZZ, and Techcrunch, O and LeCun along with over 150 researchers, entrepreneurs, and business leader signatories, warned against the risks of over-regulating generative AI and killing innovation. They are pushing for the elimination of binding clauses in the regulation for foundation model providers and replacing them with a voluntary code of conduct,.

The other camp, which includes Nicolas Miailhe, the founder and president of The Future Society, and Canadian computer scientist and leading deep learning expert Bengio, argue in an op-ed in Le Monde signed by other leading figures in AI and technology, that renouncing an ambitious legal framework for artificial intelligence would weaken Europe’s historic position and threaten Europe’s core industries.

As global leaders gathered in Dubai this week for COP28, the United Nations’ climate conference, a global hackathon was exploring how quantum computing can contribute to solving some of the world’s toughest challenges, including sustainability.

The winners of the hackathon, which was organized by French quantum company PASQAL and attracted more than 800 candidates with 75 proposals from 25+ countries, demonstrated how the cutting-edge technology can, among other things, be used for renewable energy forecasting and optimizing the layout of windfarms.

The application of new technologies to abate climate change is needed more than ever. A new report released this week by the World Economic Forum entitled Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023, published in collaboration with Accenture, takes stock of progress towards net-zero emissions for eight industries – steel, cement, aluminum, ammonia, excluding other chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping and trucking – which depend on fossil fuels for 90% of their energy demand and pose some of the most technological and capital-intensive decarbonization challenges.

These emission-intensive sectors, which account for more than 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions, are not aligned with the trajectory to reach net zero by 2050, says the report. Over the past three years, absolute emissions have grown on average by 8% due to increased activity and demand and all sectors in scope depend on fossil fuels, most with over 90% reliance.

Transitioning these industries to a Net Zero future will require a collective investment of approximately $13.5 trillion, prioritizing the electrification of low to medium temperature industrial processes, says the report. That amount is needed to scale up the essential technologies and sustainable infrastructure, but investments aren’t enough, says the report. They must be complemented by policies and incentives that can help the industries make the switch while ensuring access to affordable and reliable resources that are critical for economic growth.

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Cradle, a Dutch startup, applies generative AI to biology to significantly reduce the time and cost of research and development in designing protein-based products. Its technology can be used to create a large range of products across multiple industries from medicines or sustainable alternatives to food products, to detergents and plastics made without petrochemicals, raw materials for clothing or electronics, or more complex products such as enzymes that can break down plastics and other pollutants or emissions. The company is working with nine industry partners, including Janssen Research & Development, Novozymes, and Twist Bioscience.
Cradle, which raised €24 million in venture capital on November 28, has built a Web-based software that any team of scientists can use, without help from bio-informatician or machine learning engineers.

“We believe that these powerful AI technologies really need to integrate with what scientists are doing in the wet labs,” says co-founder and bioengineer Elise de Reus. “Our mission is to help biologists to use generative AI and machine learning to optimize proteins to get to the target properties in less time." Most projects progress two times faster using Cradle’s platform compared to industry benchmarks, according to the company.

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Percentage of all capital in European tech in 2023 invested in the Carbon & Energy sector, more than double the share of investment in 2021, according to Atomico's State of European Tech 2023 report, which was published this week. The report says Carbon & Energy, which encompasses climate tech, has overtaken Finance & Insurance and software as the single largest sector by capital raised. The report notes that in addition to more capital, purpose-driven ventures are attracting top talent.