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When I finished my formal education, the worldwide web had not been built. Yet for the last 20 years, my working life has depended on the revolution it began.<\/p>\n
Today, technology is at another, potentially bigger inflection point. AI has huge potential to make people\u2019s lives better \u2014 and to solve some of society\u2019s biggest challenges. AlphaFold, for example, is helping over 1.7m researchers understand diseases and find new biorenewable materials, while Project Relate is helping people with non-standard speech to communicate more clearly.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re pursuing AI boldly and responsibly to ensure that everyone can benefit. Innovation has always been a team sport, and AI is no exception. We\u2019re committed to playing our part \u2014 working together with EU Governments, civil society, academics and businesses to find the right path to land this technology safely and for everyone.<\/p>\n
For AI to benefit everyone, it must be built by \u2014 and accessible to \u2014 everyone. So today, we are launching the AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe, to help provide training and skills to support people and countries to be successful in seizing the opportunity of AI.<\/p>\n
Europe can lead the way in harnessing AI to create a strong and equitable economy \u2014 with more productive industries, more meaningful work and many new kinds of jobs. We want to play our part in empowering Europe\u2019s workforce, supporting people through change, so that everyone can benefit.<\/p>\n
Back in 2015, we launched \u201cGrow with Google\u201d \u2014 offering free training to help address the EU\u2019s digital skills gap. We were blown away by demand. In the years since, we\u2019ve trained over 12 million people across Europe in digital skills \u2014 in partnership with governments, small business associations, trade unions, NGOs and local communities. Many of the people trained have gone on to grow their careers, start new businesses or get a new job using what they learned.<\/p>\n
Our new AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe is built on that experience. Working in partnership with governments and local communities, we\u2019ll provide a range of foundational and advanced AI training to support vulnerable communities, startups and everyone.<\/p>\n
It includes:<\/p>\n
As part of the AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe, today we\u2019re announcing EUR 25 million funding from Google.org to support AI training and skills for people across Europe \u2014 with a particular focus on vulnerable and underserved communities. We\u2019ll start by dedicating EUR 10 million of this to equipping workers with the skills they need to avoid being left behind.<\/p>\n
Our AI Opportunity Fund: Europe, in partnership with the Centre for Public Impact, is seeking applications from social enterprises and nonprofits who can help us reach those people most likely to benefit from this training. Selected organizations will receive bespoke and facilitated training on foundational AI in local languages delivered directly to the workers in their communities \u2014 as well as cash grants for critical wraparound support, such as childcare or compensation for pay, to remove the barrier to learning.<\/p>\n
Adrian Brown, Executive Director, Centre for Public Impact said: \u201cAI has enormous potential to transform the world for the better. Yet research shows that the benefits of AI could exacerbate existing inequalities \u2014 especially in terms of economic security and employment. This new program will help people across Europe develop their knowledge, skills and confidence around AI, ensuring that no one is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our AI Opportunity Initiative also includes a new series of Google for Startups Growth Academies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The equity-free program is to support startups using AI to solve society\u2019s biggest challenges, in health, education and cybersecurity. It helps startups to grow their user numbers, scale and go global with help from Google\u2019s products, best practices and connections to experts. We are open for applications for the Growth Academy: AI for Health now.<\/p>\n
As the final part of the AI Opportunity Initiative, we\u2019re expanding our AI foundational courses to 18 languages. The courses are free of charge and available to everyone, offering a series of modules on introductory AI skills to help people and businesses get practical skills and knowledge.<\/p>\n
In addition, we\u2019ll be adding more resources to our existing Google Career Certificates program, which are three to six months in length and provide a professional certificate, to help learners discover how professionals in their fields are using AI, while gaining hands-on experience applying AI to workplace scenarios.<\/p>\n
AI has the potential to help us build a better, fairer, healthier society \u2014 and to support competitiveness and inclusive growth. It\u2019s up to all of us to make that happen: working boldly, responsibly and together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n