Europe abandoning American technology: what does this mean for researchers?

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission, announced plans for the European Technological Sovereignty Package. Credit: Thierry Monasse/Getty

Across Europe, governments are reducing their dependence on American technology companies. On June 3, the European Commission presented its plans under the EU Technology Sovereignty Package, which includes several proposals to strengthen digital autonomy, including plans to strengthen internally developed cloud services and artificial intelligence and promote the use of open source technologies.

“We live in a world where geopolitics and technology are inseparable,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president of the Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “It’s time for Europe to take control of its data, its supply chains and its future in a clean and sustainable way. »

Europe must become an epicenter of research as the American system is undermined

Several European countries are already moving away from American technologies, and some researchers are feeling the effects of these changes. This year, the French government announced plans to abandon non-European IT service providers, for example by replacing the Windows operating system, made by Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, with the open source alternative Linux and requiring all state services to replace videoconferencing, from Zoom, made by Zoom Communications in San Jose, California, to Visio, a platform developed by France’s Direction interministérielle du digital. Similar changes are underway in parts of Germany, Denmark and elsewhere.

Some research institutes in Europe have already canceled contracts for U.S. digital products, and many others are actively discussing how to become more digitally independent. Some researchers are also ending their dependence on American technology of their own accord.

For many, these actions are driven by concerns related to political developments in recent years, such as concerns about data privacy and the decline of academic freedom in countries like the United States, says Pierre Senellart, vice president of digital infrastructure and IT convergence at PSL University in Paris. “There is a growing understanding that it might be wise to move away from systems run by American companies. »

In search of independence

Some research institutes in France have made vast changes to dissociate their digital systems from non-European suppliers. In December, the country’s largest public research organization, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), banned its employees from using consumer chatbots built outside Europe, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT in San Francisco, California, and Google’s Gemini. Instead, the CNRS offered its staff access to Emmy, a generative AI tool from Mistral AI in Paris, describing it as a secure alternative to large language models built in the United States and China.

Some of these changes are starting to be felt in other university establishments in France. At PSL University, where most researchers are members of the CNRS laboratories, many researchers began using Visio after the termination of the CNRS contract with Zoom Communications.

For now, there are few other shifts toward European digital technologies – but many universities are considering how to become less dependent on American suppliers, says Senellart. Many French universities rely heavily on IT services offered by American technology giants such as Microsoft. It is therefore not easy to determine when and how to replace them, explains Senellart.

How Europe wants to seduce American scientists and protect academic freedom

In Germany, too, a handful of municipal and state governments are dissociating themselves from U.S. tech companies. The state government of Schleswig-Holstein, for example, replaced Microsoft tools with open source tools. At one institution in the state, the University of Kiel, active discussions on digital sovereignty – such as how to strengthen independence when it comes to digital services and handling of sensitive data – have been underway for several months, says Veronika Penner, head of digital at the university. She adds that when it comes to acquiring new tools, the university is increasingly considering open source and digitally sovereign alternatives to commercial products.

Other actors in the academic community are also working to increase digital sovereignty. Earlier this year, the German Research Foundation DFG, the country’s largest research funder, presented recommendations for the scientific community to build a more resilient data infrastructure, which included, among other things, a call for researchers to prioritize the responsible use of European open source products. The DFG has also launched a funding initiative aimed at preserving endangered datasets that are held in foreign repositories but are crucial to European researchers – and the first four of its funded projects all involve US datasets.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos