Speaker
Description
The EGI Federation, that emerged from WLCG in 2010, has been a cornerstone of European and global digital science for over 15 years, providing a federated e-infrastructure for 150,000+ researchers across all scientific disciplines. The recently approved “EGI Federation Strategy 2026–2030” sets out an ambitious plan for the next 5 years to ensure that EGI remains an accelerator for science.
One of the centrepieces in the new strategy is strengthening our value proposition in AI through 3 activities: (1) Expanding EGI’s sovereign Compute-Data Federation with AI-ready compute resources (GPUs, HPC sites), and with AI-ready scientific datasets; (2) Eliminating and working around policy and funding barriers that limit cross-border access and delivery of compute, data and application services; (3) Strengthening EGI as an AI R&I ecosystem where innovations persist beyond project lifecycles.
Recent EGI flagship projects, such as iMagine (AI-based imaging data and services for aquatic science) and InterTwin (Co-designing and prototyping an AI-driven interdisciplinary Digital Twin Engine) demonstrated the use of AI frameworks, models and data across shared, national facilities, often overlapping with WLCG sites. Current EGI flagship initiatives further strengthen the AI trajectory: (1) EOSC Data Commons establishes a trusted Research Commons with AI tools that provide seamless access and integration of research outputs, applications and services. (2) RI-SCALE develops and deploys ‘Data Exploitation Platforms’ that enable peer-partnerships between Research Infrastructure data holdings and HPC/cloud providers to jointly offer scalable, AI-driven analysis and processing environments for scientists. (3) SCIANCE establishes the foundations for the ‘Resource for AI Science in Europe’ (RAISE) programme that will pool European compute resources, specialized datasets, and expert talent, to accelerate breakthroughs in and with AI in European science and strategic sectors.
This presentation will provide an overview of recent AI-experiences in EGI, and will detail EGI’s future strategy concerning AI. The contribution will facilitate knowledge sharing between the WLCG and EGI communities, with the ultimate goal to enable coordinated and collaborative uptake of AI within our intertwined infrastructures.