As world leaders gather in Paris for a major summit on artificial intelligence, a Polish AI expert has warned that Poland is not developing its potential despite strong credentials in technology research.
Poland's AI sector was shaken earlier this year by the U.S. decision to limit the number of hi-tech chips permitted for export to many countries in central and eastern Europe.
Dr Dariusz Jemielniak, vice president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, said the U.S. ruling – yet to be implemented – is evidence of a “silicon curtain” that may impede inward investment.
Another expert, Dr Aleksandra Przegalińska, told TVP World that the European Union needs to build a “common agenda” to harness the innovation being developed in countries across the bloc.
Dr Dariusz Jemielniak, vice president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, said the U.S. ruling – yet to be implemented – is evidence of a “silicon curtain” that may impede inward investment.
Another expert, Dr Aleksandra Przegalińska, told TVP World that the European Union needs to build a “common agenda” to harness the innovation being developed in countries across the bloc.
Geopolitical worries for Poland
Dr Jemielniak, a professor of management at Koźmiński University in Warsaw, said the main worries around the American AI chip limit are geopolitical.
“The fact that Poland has been singled out as a region which is not as close to the United States as we hoped we would be is problematic for political reasons,” he told TVP World.
He pointed out that the surprising emergence of the Chinese-developed open-source language model, DeepSeek, proves that “chips do not matter as much as we assumed because it's possible to develop very clever AI systems without such amazing hardware.”
However, if the U.S. enforced chip limitations, it would be “problematic from the point of view of investors,” he said.
“If big corporations were to start data centers in Poland, unfortunately, such a restriction, even if it's just theoretical in the beginning, could deter bigger investments in Poland data centers.”
“The fact that Poland has been singled out as a region which is not as close to the United States as we hoped we would be is problematic for political reasons,” he told TVP World.
He pointed out that the surprising emergence of the Chinese-developed open-source language model, DeepSeek, proves that “chips do not matter as much as we assumed because it's possible to develop very clever AI systems without such amazing hardware.”
However, if the U.S. enforced chip limitations, it would be “problematic from the point of view of investors,” he said.
“If big corporations were to start data centers in Poland, unfortunately, such a restriction, even if it's just theoretical in the beginning, could deter bigger investments in Poland data centers.”
€1 billion AI funding boost
In January, the Polish government announced plans to invest over €1 billion in developing domestic artificial intelligence technologies in 2025.
While welcoming the investment, Dr Jemielniak said the sum wasn't enough compared to the amounts being thrown at innovation in countries leading worldwide AI development.
“Poland as a country is not really developing up to its full potential,” he said.
“We have amazing software engineers, we have amazing machine learning professors and researchers but we are unable to provide an environment that would really help those companies and those initiatives.”
While welcoming the investment, Dr Jemielniak said the sum wasn't enough compared to the amounts being thrown at innovation in countries leading worldwide AI development.
“Poland as a country is not really developing up to its full potential,” he said.
“We have amazing software engineers, we have amazing machine learning professors and researchers but we are unable to provide an environment that would really help those companies and those initiatives.”
Europe's fractured AI scene
Dr. Przegalińska, vice-rector at Kozminski University, hopes that the conference in Paris, which is set to be attended by leaders and representatives from 80 countries, top tech executives, academics and experts, will discuss creating a pan-European strategy for AI.
The continent's current approach is fractured, she said. “The way we can read this summit is that it's an attempt to change this situation, where Europe again becomes a global player on the AI scene,” Dr. Przegalińska told TVP World on Monday.
An economic strategy recently announced by the European Commission named AI development as a key pillar for improving the bloc's growth and competitiveness.
Dr Przegalińska believes that the EU is ahead of the curve in regulating AI, but lagging in harnessing the technology. “Europe really does not have its own agenda,” she said.
“Poland, France and Germany all had their models,” she said.
“All these models are smaller than the ones offered by China and the U.S.,” she said, “If we want to be competitive in this area we have to be one team.”
In Paris, one of President Emmanuel Macron's officials called the summit a “wake-up call” for the EU, adding that it must not let the AI revolution “pass it by,” the BBC reported.
Nonetheless, Dr Przegalińska predicts that safety and regulation will be at the top of the agenda as industry leaders and policymakers meet.
“Discussions around AI are often focused on fear and the fact that this is very challenging technology in many different ways: for the labor market, for our safety, and I think it is very important to regulate it,” she said.
She believes European citizens and their representatives are generally more wary of AI than Americans or Chinese people.
“The U.S. approach currently is definitely not to regulate this technology and it could have many different consequences, including very negative ones,” said Dr Przegalińska.
However, she added that these suspicions could change when the benefits of AI in fields such as healthcare become more apparent.
The continent's current approach is fractured, she said. “The way we can read this summit is that it's an attempt to change this situation, where Europe again becomes a global player on the AI scene,” Dr. Przegalińska told TVP World on Monday.
An economic strategy recently announced by the European Commission named AI development as a key pillar for improving the bloc's growth and competitiveness.
Dr Przegalińska believes that the EU is ahead of the curve in regulating AI, but lagging in harnessing the technology. “Europe really does not have its own agenda,” she said.
“Poland, France and Germany all had their models,” she said.
“All these models are smaller than the ones offered by China and the U.S.,” she said, “If we want to be competitive in this area we have to be one team.”
In Paris, one of President Emmanuel Macron's officials called the summit a “wake-up call” for the EU, adding that it must not let the AI revolution “pass it by,” the BBC reported.
'Very challenging technology'
Nonetheless, Dr Przegalińska predicts that safety and regulation will be at the top of the agenda as industry leaders and policymakers meet.
“Discussions around AI are often focused on fear and the fact that this is very challenging technology in many different ways: for the labor market, for our safety, and I think it is very important to regulate it,” she said.
She believes European citizens and their representatives are generally more wary of AI than Americans or Chinese people.
“The U.S. approach currently is definitely not to regulate this technology and it could have many different consequences, including very negative ones,” said Dr Przegalińska.
However, she added that these suspicions could change when the benefits of AI in fields such as healthcare become more apparent.
