The European Union has officially launched the testing and experimental sites (TEFs) for artificial intelligence (AI) in Copenhagen on June 27. These TEFs aim to test new AI technologies in real conditions and evaluate their compliance with European values and society’s needs.
Understanding TEF
TEF, also known as Testing and Experimental Facilities, are facilities in the European Union where complex digital technologies can be tested in real conditions. This includes technologies like robotics, AI, network protocols, data processing, and their management. Think of TEFs as a safety filter between new digital technologies and European citizens.
TEFs act as real-life testing grounds for new complex technologies to ensure their safety, compliance with legislations, ethics and security. This helps turn the technology into a safe and functional product that is fit for society and man. It is a digital version of the Euro NCAP crash test system for evaluating new cars.
The European Commission allocated 220 million euros to create TEFs. More than half of the EU member states and 128 partners have come together to build TEFs, with the aim of making Europe a place where AI reaches the market securely and confidentially for all European citizens and beyond.
There are four TEFs in total, covering various spheres of AI: Tef4AGRI for agriculture and food, AI4Media for healthcare, AI-MATTERS for production and Citcom.AI for smart cities and communities. Each site is a collaboration between universities, scientific institutions, companies and civil society in different European countries.
Valentina Ivanova, coordinator of the AI-MATTERS project, production TEF says, “Suppliers of AI-based decisions are able to test their products in real conditions to evaluate whether they correspond to the needs of customers. Offering access to test and experimental infrastructure throughout Europe, we strive to accelerate the distribution of these solutions in the market.”
TEFs are the guarantors of AI’s security and trustworthiness between technological suppliers and society. It is a significant and pioneering step towards building secure and trustable AI products that will benefit society.