Commission’s DG for technology restructures to realise AI Office

The European Commission’s Directorate General of Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) is reorganising its internal structure to accommodate for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office said officials on Wednesday (29 May).

The AI Office is tasked with implementing the bloc’s landmark AI Act, which looks to regulate uses of the speedily-developing technology based on expected risk.

The office has to come up with a series of codes of practice and guidelines that will bring the act to life.

DG CNECT’s A Unit, led by Lucilla Sioli, will morph into the AI Office, with some sub-units being re-assigned to AI-related tasks.

The reorganisation was reported by Euractiv, along with questions on who will lead the office and how it will be staffed, last week.

“It’s not a huge reorientation,” as most of the units are already working on AI, said an official.

The reorganisation will be effective June 16, said a Commission press release.

The DG is recruiting 80 people such as technology specialists, political scientists, and lawyers, said an official, bringing the total staff in the office to 140.

The official did not give a timeline of the recruitment process but industry insiders have expressed to Euractiv concerns about how long it is taking.

“We have two years to be able to hire the 80 people,” when the AI Act is fully implemented, said an official.

The hiring is happening “in batches” so that the Commission can fill its needs as they become apparent, they added.

The office will also work with external contractors under the Digital Europe budget, the official said.

The Commission didn’t preclude the possibility that MEP Dragos Tudorache (Renew, Romania) will have a role in the office.

Tudorache was the rapporteur for the AI Act and widely rumoured to be looking to lead the office.

The reorganisation

Pehaps the most important unit will be A2, led by Killian Gross and in charge of regulation and compliance, coordinating “the regulatory approach to facilitate the uniform application and enforcement of the AI Act,” as well as contributing to investigations and sanctions decisions, according to a press release.

Unit A3 which works on microelectronics and photonics will be moved to another unit with DG CNECT, and a new A3 Unit will be responsible for AI safety. The new A3 Unit currently does not have a leader, the official said.

Some of the biggest changes in the structure are in Unit A4, which will be responsible for A4 innovation and policy coordination as opposed to its previous tasks on digital transformation and industrial ecosystems.

A new unit will be formed, A5, named “AI for Societal Good,” led by Martin Bailey

MEPs probe Commission about AI Office recruitment strategy

Recruitment for the AI Office is key to the implementation of the EU’s landmark law.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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