Supercomputer server room University of Luxembourg Competence Centre

Supercomputer server room University of Luxembourg Competence Centre

In order to demystify the intelligent future of the Luxembourg industry, we talked to Innovation Management specialist Ramona Caulea and Arnaud Lambert, Director of the Luxembourg Digital Innovation Hub (L-DIH), both active at Luxinnovation GIE.

Mr Lambert, what does an SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) need to do to get started with AI?

The first step is to identify the problem you want to solve. Then you need to collect relevant data to feed/train the AI algorithm. The next step is to apply AI to a reduced scope, see the benefits and then extend the usage. AI applications should have a human-centric approach that takes into consideration employees, customers and any other relevant stakeholders concerned by their use. It is also essential they are designed to fulfil the trustworthy AI principle (lawful, ethical, robust) defined by the European Commission guidelines.

The key to success is to allocate a person with business process experience to the project and to find a partner with the right AI expertise to support the implementation process. This is the mission of the L-DIH, hosted by Luxinnovation. The L-DIH team understands SMEs’ needs and can point them towards potential partners with relevant skills, technologies and knowledge.

Ms Caulea, do you think Luxembourg is well prepared for empowering its industry with AI?

Luxembourg has strong ambitions in the field of AI. Its national AI vision underlines the country’s unique ability to become a living lab of real-world AI applications while developing leading AI regulations that put people first.

To realise this vision, a National Competence Centre in High-Performance Computing, High-Performance Data Analytics and Artificial intelligence – a collaboration between Luxinnovation, LuxProvide and the University of Luxembourg - has been set up. Its mission is to promote and support the use of business-oriented supercomputers such as MeluXina, to accelerate innovation in the industry. Operated by a team of highly qualified experts at LuxProvide, MeluXina offers industrial companies the opportunity to train, test and validate AI models in a secure environment where sensitive business data and intellectual property rights are protected. Launched in 2021, MeluXina has already implemented more than 100 projects originating from industry, public research and collaborations between companies and research institutes.

How do you see AI impacting the future of the industry?

AI will greatly impact the industry in the coming years due to its ability to reduce business costs in the long term and boost production output, quality and reliability. It is already used in Luxembourg in various sectors, be it by manufacturing companies, health professionals, for environmental protection or even in finance, where a recent example would be LuxemBERT - a language model used to set up chatbots - developed by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, BGL BNP Paribas, and the Alphonse Weicker Foundation.

A huge thanks to both of you, Ramona and Arnaud, for this insight. And if this has sparked your interest, we have something more for you:

Elements of AI is a series of free online courses on Artificial Intelligence created by MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki. Join this uniquely fascinating MOOC on what AI really is, how it is created and how it will affect us in the coming years, now also in Luxembourg on: