Digital Min: Bill on 'Data Governance Act' to be introduced soon, 'AI Factory' to be set up

Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou spoke of enriching the public sector's digital services, the upcoming draft law incorporating the "Data Governance Act", and the proposal for an "AI Factory" in Greece, during the two-day 4th Innovation Forum on "Innovation as a pillar of technological transition" opening on Wednesday.

The event is held jointly by the Eugenides Foundation, the Greek-German Industry and Commerce Chamber, and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Addressing the first panel, on "Artificial intelligence leads to innoviation in industry", Papastergiou highlighted the challenges and opportunities created in Greece by adopting new technologies, a statement by the Chamber said. Among other issues he said that Greece had taken a leap in digitization, offering over 2,000 digital services for citizens and businesses, and with the performance of Greek digital indicators exceeding in several cases that of the European average.

The Digital Governance minister also referred to the 'Data Governance Act' on using data ethically and responsibly. Speaking about creating an 'AI Factory' in Greece, to develop AI technologies, he said the emphasis should be placed on applications that use public data and provide solutions to critical issues such as health and the environment, and creating a Greek language model. He also noted the challenges Europe faces in AI, especially in maintaining linguistic diversity, and highlighted the importance of creating open European language models to protect the cultural heritage of countries.

Ambassador Kindl

In his address, German Ambassador to Greece Andreas Kindl noted among others that there is no better time to hold an innovation forum, following Germany's very successful participation as honored country at the Thessaloniki International Fair in September. He said that given the dynamic resources here there was no doubt that Germany, Greece, and Europe could once again become a lever of innovation with a global radiance.

Greek-German Chamber President Vassilis Gounaris noted that whoever invests appropriately today, acquires faster access to the future, and whoever knows how to 'read' the future, moves ahead of competition. AI, he said, reshapes existing markets and opens new markets, while ensuring the greatest possible added value than any business activity, returning part of it to society and the economy. He also called for a seamless connection between the academic community and the market, and ensuring that needed staff is found.

Also speaking at the event were Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) head of IT Innovation Center Michalis Kefalogiannis, Robert Bosch SA CEO Ioannis Kapras, and Jungheinrich Hellas CEO Elena Kallona.