The Spanish Government has warned that digital transformation cannot occur "outside of linguistic diversity" and must represent an "opportunity to defend it." The government's commitment to ensuring a "solid presence" for the Basque language in the digital sphere has been highlighted.
These statements were made in Bilbao during the 'Foro Alia: Strategic initiatives aimed at promoting the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in our industrial fabric'. An advanced public AI infrastructure was presented at the event, which is open, free, and trained in official languages, designed to facilitate access to technological resources.
The meeting, organized by the EHU and the Ministry for Digital Transformation, aimed to introduce companies and institutions to the opportunities offered by AI and public infrastructures. Emphasis was also placed on the need to move towards a "sovereign" AI, based on open models aligned with cultural reality.
“"The HITZ technological center (Basque Center for Language Technology) is leading a key transformation for the future of the Basque language, demonstrating that language models are also developed in minoritized languages."
It was also noted that AI is transforming the economy, and the countries leading the development of these technologies will drive economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness in the coming decades. Simultaneously, warnings were issued regarding the inequality that the digital divide can generate, and the necessity to combat misinformation and defend democratic values against "authoritarianisms, technocrats, and populists".
