Four new “TEFs” will be opening up for AI technology testing this year, according to the European Commission. Credit: European Commission The European Commission has announced that it will co-fund four testing and experimentation facilities, or TEFs, for AI exploration, in order to support responsible AI development and ease compliance with the EU AI Act, which is in the final stages of approval before being enacted into law. The TEFs will function in both the physical and virtual realms, according to a statement from the Commission this week. Work at the four initial TEFs, which began at the beginning of 2023, centers on agriculture and food production, healthcare data, smart manufacturing and smart city technology. Funding for the TEFs will total between $43 billion and $65 billion, which will come from both the Commission itself and from member state contributions. The TEFs will run, at least initially, for five years. The smart city TEF is known as CitCom.ai. A statement published by senior researcher Martin Brynskov of the Technical University of Denmark — the project’s host — describes it as focused on AI solutions that could be applied to urban transportation, including self-driving cars. “With an initial focus on power, mobility and connectivity, its job is to test AI rand robotics before they get into places where humans live and move around,” he wrote. AI-Matters is the manufacturing-focused TEF. It appears to be in an earlier stage of development than CitCom, but the project’s website said that it will be focused on services like factory optimization, human-robot interaction and the adoption of new AI technologies. A catalog of those services will be available by September of this year. AgrifoodTEF will focus on several distinct areas of agricultural technology, including autonomous weeding and arable farming techniques, AI optimization of growing conditions for tree crops and horticulture, AI management of livestock operations and feed production for increased sustainability, and data modeling and standardization for the food processing industry. TEF-Health will be made up of hospitals as live testing sites as well as laboratory testing facilities for AI and robotics in the healthcare sector. The use-cases, according to the Commission, will focus on cancer care, neurotec, cardiovascular health and intensive care. Testing and validation via TEFs is expected to help AI technology developers comply with the AI Act, which passed the European Parliament earlier this month. That law includes provisions regulating several aspects of AI systems, including transparency requirements for AI-generated content, a ban on AI biometric surveillance systems in public spaces and stiff testing requirements to mitigate “reasonably foreseeable” risks to society. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe