Prague is to become a center of artificial intelligence within five years, thanks to prg.ai initiative - News service

Publication date:

2019/05/16

CTU in Prague, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic joined forces with the capital city, froming the prg.ai initiative, which will promote cutting-edge science and research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Initiators are planning to attract world scientists to the Czech Republic, expand the base of Czech AI talents and help the emergence of new technology companies and startups. Thanks to the prg.ai initiative, presented to the public on 16 May, Prague can soon become a center of artificial intelligence of European significance. In addition to the Prague City Hall, the government and major private companies support this unique initiative.

In the five year horizon, the Czech Republic should be boasting with five thousand AI researchers and developers, five hundred AI graduates, and fifty new firms emerging each year in the most advanced technology area that moves the global economy and society. The goal of the prg.ai initiative, for which the top of the Czech Academy has joined, is nothing less than to compete with European centers of artificial intelligence. Already today, more than one hundred AI experts are graduating from Prague's universities, which is more than in Montreal, Canada, which is well-known for its skilled workforce in AI. And within a few years, thanks to prg.ai, it should be more.

The prg.ai initiative builds on the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the European effort to establish itself in the technological field of the future. Its main priority is to attract the best minds from abroad and increase interest in working in the Prague AI ecosystem. The goal of prg.ai is also to cooperate across academia and industry and to support Czech business. It is with the Czech companies that the initiative plans to actively cooperate on retraining and creating AI jobs, preparing and implementing innovation strategies and implementing pilot projects. In addition to working with established companies, the initiative aims to increase the number of startups based on prg.ai universities and institutes. It will therefore focus on the incubation of higher education projects, their funding and the establishment of transparent cooperation. Prg.ai intends to work closely with other AI centers in the Czech Republic, EU, Switzerland, Israel and North America to integrate into regional and global networks.

"It is about building a complex ecosystem, whose cornerstones are the concentration of excellent basic and applied research, its transfer to practice, companies and building startups, the successful application of AI in industry and international cooperation," said Rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague doc. Vojtěch Petráček.

In the past, the Czech metropolis was not able to use the positive benefits of technology to develop the concept of a smart city, but with the emergence of a prg.ai, a drastic change should occur. Linking the trio of academic institutions with the capital can be considered a historic milestone. Prague and other Czech cities will receive a much-needed influx of professionals whose activities will continue to grow in the region's economy as well as to ease the daily lives of the population in the coming years.

To raise awareness of the benefits of artificial intelligence and its ethical, legal and economic aspects, prg.ai wants to actively promote public debate and education. The Prg.ai Minor course is an optional specialization in which students of various technical and non-technical fields will be able to enroll at both Charles University and CTU.

Following media informed about the event: euro.cz, radio.cz, czechleaders.cz, itbiz.cz, lupa.cz, sputniknews.cz, gloobal.cz, novinky.cz, itmix.cz or sciencemag.cz.

Photo: Karolína Jírová