The kick-off meeting of the EUSAiR project, funded by the European Commission, was held in Bologna on January 23 and 24, 2025. EUSAiR aims to support the implementation of regulatory sandboxes for Artificial Intelligence in EU countries, creating controlled environments to test and validate innovative AI systems before they are commercialized (Sandboxes). The two-year project is led by ICSC – National Research Center in High Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing and involves academic excellence (University of Bologna and Florence, University of Turku, and Haaga-Helia), national authorities (ACN), some of the world’s leading supercomputing centers (BSC, CINECA, CSC), the largest network of digital SMEs in Europe (European DIGITAL SME Alliance), and organizations specializing in responsible AI (ALLAI and TÜV AI.Lab) and communication and co-creation processes (LOBA).
The project
EUSAiR will focus on providing standardized regulatory frameworks, technical and legal capabilities, and promoting cooperation among EU Member States. The creation of sandboxes, which the project will be responsible for supporting and coordinating, will also guarantee access to AI innovators, particularly SMEs and startups, reducing the costs of adapting to new regulations and thus making it sustainable for these entities to enter the market. In this context, support and expertise will be offered to national authorities and players in the European AI ecosystem, promoting a multidisciplinary commitment to joint initiatives, with a particular focus on the ethical use of AI. Through an innovative approach, EUSAiR is therefore committed to improving the supervision of competent authorities, promoting evidence-based learning, disseminating good practices, and facilitating access to the EU market for AI systems.
What was discussed
During the meeting, strategies were discussed to facilitate innovation and competitiveness in AI, improving legal certainty for innovators and facilitating regulatory compliance. “Regulatory sandboxes are a crucial step towards harmonizing the implementation of the AI Act, supporting the ecosystem for innovative AI development in Europe, particularly for SMEs and startups, and helping to make the European AI model attractive and reliable. To this end, the project will work closely with the European Commission’s AI Office, the 27 Member States, and organizations such as TEF and EDIH to promote broad accessibility to these sandboxes, reducing compliance costs and market barriers,” said project coordinator Antonino Rotolo (UNIBO and ICSC) on the sidelines of the kick-off meeting.
