Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence to start work in Estonia

The Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, led by the University of Tartu’s Institute of Computer Science, will address scientific issues of importance to Estonia. The government will support the centre of excellence with 7 million euros over seven years. 

Led by Associate Professor Meelis Kull, the centre of excellence will advance innovative methodologies to develop reliable AI systems. These methodologies are applied to further AI capabilities in key Estonian sectors, including e-governance, healthcare, business process management, and cybersecurity. Tallinn University of Technology and Cybernetica AS will be involved in the centre’s work as partners. 

According to Meelis Kull, head of the centre and Associate Professor at the Institute of Computer Science, the mission of the centre of excellence is to create methods for developing trustworthy artificial intelligence systems and to ensure that they serve the interests of society in the best possible way. “Artificial intelligence has evolved rapidly in recent years, and there is enormous unused potential. For our digital nation’s success story to continue, we need to deploy artificial intelligence wherever practical,” said Kull. To achieve that, it is necessary to complement large language models with knowledge about the Estonian language, culture and state. It is also necessary to find ways to integrate artificial intelligence with existing digital solutions while ensuring reliability, safety, privacy and security. Basic and applied research at the centre of excellence and collaboration with government and enterprises will help achieve this.

Eight research groups from the University of Tartu, four from Tallinn University of Technology and one from Cybernetica AS are involved in the work of the centre of excellence. 

Read more about the other new Estonian centres of excellence in research launched under the leadership of the University of Tartu.