The Case for Increased Transatlantic Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence | Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Despite all of these changes, the importance of a strong relationship between the United States and the European Union has been a constant. The transatlantic disagreements that have characterized the past few years—and have hampered a united front on emerging technologies like 5G and AI5—are not the first time US-EU relations have suffered, but they should not further divide allies that share common values.6 Deepened US-EU cooperation across the entire AI ecosystem7 is necessary to advance a more secure, safe, and prosperous world, but to do this the current level of AI-related coordination and partnership needs to be increased. This report’s purpose is twofold: first, to inform policymakers and researchers about the current state of transatlantic AI efforts; and second, to recommend specific areas where transatlantic AI collaboration should be strengthened. Based on a comprehensive study of over 260 documents and reports covering the period from December 1997 to June 2020, we proposes more than 16 recommendations to increase US-EU AI collaboration across the entire AI ecosystem, as well as 9 recommendations for AI cooperation in the healthcare, environmental sciences, and defense sectors. Greater transatlantic efforts are needed to prevent the advancement of an AI vision that is adversarial and harmful to the wellbeing of the United States, the European Union, and allies.