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Spain Announces $155 Million AI Subsidy Plan to Drive Innovation
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Spanish president Pedro Sánchez announced this Monday that the government will invest 150 million euros—around $155 million— in a subsidiary program to help Spanish companies enhance and integrate artificial intelligence. Sánchez also introduced a Spanish open-source AI model called Alia.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Spanish president Pedro Sanchez announced a 150 million euro program to help companies enhance and integrate AI.
- The government also launched an open-source AI model called Alia, capable of understanding the Spanish context and culture.
- Alia has been trained in Castilian, and the co-official languages Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Valencian.
According to La Vanguardia , Sánchez explained that the government is committed to supporting companies in the development of new technologies, including small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Of these (the 150 million euros), we will soon allocate 20 million to 500 use cases in small and medium-sized enterprises, whose results and experiences will be accessible to our entire network of SMEs, helping to make them a more innovative and competitive ecosystem,” said Sánchez during the HispanIA 2040 event yesterday.
The Spanish president also introduced the new Spanish AI model called Alia, an open-source model trained in Castilian and the co-official languages Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Valencian, spoken in multiple regions in Spain.
According to El País , Alia’s goal is to better understand Spanish context, dialects, expressions, and culture than popular models like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini, which are usually trained in English. Sánchez also announced that the government is already testing the model in two pilot projects: one with the Tax Agency to accelerate bureaucratic processes and another with the Primary Care service to improve early diagnosis of heart failure.
As a government, Spain’s initiative stands out in the region with its focus on linguistic diversity and open-source accessibility.
Other powerful open-source models have also been released recently. The Chinese AI company DeepSeek launched its latest open-source AI model, DeepSeek-V3 , a few days ago, and Alibaba unveiled its Qwen 2.5 open-source models a few months ago.
Image by macrovector, from Freepik
Bringing AI To Life: The Role of Autonomous Systems In Transforming Industries
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting , the potential of autonomous systems was explored, emphasizing their transformative role across various industries.
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Autonomous systems are transforming industries like transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture.
- Ethical challenges and safety concerns must be addressed for autonomous systems’ responsible deployment.
- Timely workforce upskilling is necessary to prepare for changes due to automation.
These systems, which combine mechanical engineering, AI, sensor technology, and connectivity, are moving beyond digital realms and into the physical world, carrying out complex tasks in unstructured environments.
As highlighted in a WEF article by Maria Alonso, the lead of Autonomous Systems at the Forum, this shift could redefine productivity and growth, impacting everything from transportation to healthcare.
Autonomous vehicles, often seen as the face of this revolution, are already making their mark. In cities like San Francisco and Wuhan, fleets of driverless taxis, or robotaxis, are operating without safety drivers.
However, despite these examples, challenges remain. The high costs and complexity of deploying robotaxis have led some car manufacturers, including General Motors, to reassess their strategies, as noted by the Alonso.
Meanwhile, autonomous trucks and semi-autonomous private vehicles continue to gain traction, promising significant benefits in safety and efficiency, especially for long-distance trucking, which could operate around the clock, says the WEF.
Beyond transportation, autonomous systems are reshaping industries like manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and public services. BMW is testing humanoid robots in its automotive factories to enable 24/7 production and improve task quality, explains the WEF.
In the mining sector, companies like Rio Tinto are using self-driving trucks in remote locations, while Saudi Aramco deploys autonomous underwater vehicles for offshore surveys. The agriculture sector, too, is benefiting from these advancements with autonomous tractors and harvesters, boosting productivity in an industry under pressure to meet global demand, as noted by the WEF.
The public sector is also leveraging autonomous systems in diverse ways. From deploying robot dogs for trash collection in China to using drones for power line inspections in the UK and delivering healthcare to remote areas in India, governments are tapping into these technologies to improve public services, as noted by the WEF.
Despite the numerous benefits, the rise of autonomous systems raises important ethical and safety concerns. Alonso pointed out the need for robust guardrails to govern the deployment of these systems, especially considering their potential to cause physical harm if malfunctioning.
Additionally, timely workforce upskilling is essential to ensure workers are prepared for changes brought on by automation, and the purpose of these systems must be carefully considered to address pressing societal needs. Indeed, the WEF previously highlighted the importance of reskilling, as 39% of skills are expected to become obsolete by 2030 .
As autonomous systems continue to evolve, their successful integration will require collaboration between the public sector, private companies, and academia to ensure that their deployment is both ethical and beneficial to society.
