Tenerife is the only territory in Spain -city or autonomous community- that remains a candidate for the headquarters of the four agencies or similar state-level entities pending designation. Therefore, it is also the only island in the Canary Islands that aspires to house three newly created national bodies – the Spanish Space and Artificial Intelligence Supervision agencies, as well as the state Volcanological Center– and another international one –the European Tourism Agency–.
The report of Canary Islands Governmentreleased last Thursday – which bets on Gran Canaria for the Space Agency and on Tenerife to host the Artificial Intelligence Agency – is a mere endorsement without much influence on the final decision that corresponds to the State Executive, as well as the product of a “Solomonic decision”, as declared by the president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Pedo Martín, who also stresses that «Madrid has the last word». The race continues and at the moment there is no date for the decision, following a report from the advisory commission created for this purpose. In fact, more cities can still join – at the moment, there are 17 for each one – to opt for the Space Agency or the Artificial Intelligence Agency, since the deadline ends next Monday, the 7th.
Whatever happens, Tenerife remains on the starting line for all its goals. This is confirmed, in statements to Cadena Cope, by the island president, Pedro Martín, who reaffirms that the decision of the regional Executive is “Solomonic, so as not to generate conflict in the Islands.”
“Let’s see what happens, because we don’t give up any of the possibilities”
Martín emphasizes that “we do not decide which island one agency or another goes to, but then we have to compete with cities throughout Spain.” The president of the Cabildo values “our proposals for both agencies. We are going to have to compete and it will be a strong fight. Even, he points out, “that of volcanology is not assigned to the Canary Islands either, although it seems logical.”
Tenerife does not give up its Tourism headquarters, which is international, because “The Canary Islands have to compete in this area and it is clear that we have tourism leadership that leads us to propose ourselves.” He concludes: “For this and many other alternatives, we are not going to sit back and wait for the prize to come down from the sky. Let’s see what happens.”
The strengths.
Martín recalls again the strengths of Tenerife. In the specific aspect of artificial intelligence, the Tourist Plan, a pioneer in Spain, which is based on the discipline that seeks to replicate the intelligence of the human being through computing. Resources such as the Observatory of the Mount Teidethe Teide and Anaga supercomputers or the innovation chairs of the University of La Laguna. Without forgetting the connections of the submarine cable, the tricontinental geostrategic position and other research centers such as the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) or the Asrophysical Institute of the Canary Islands (IAC). As a last strong idea are the multifunctional centers that can host activities. Up to five throughout the island geography.
New rivals.
Tenerife has new rivals, confirmed yesterday, to be the headquarters of the Artificial Intelligence Supervision Agency. Among them, Granada, after the decision last Thursday of the Andalusian Government, backed yesterday by businessmen from southern Spain, to endorse and promote the candidacy. In Granada converge an important engine academic as is its university, with one of the 50 best Computer Engineering schools in the world, with a technological and biotechnological cluster made up of more than 700 leading companies and an ICT business center with a top-level technology base. Salamanca also adheres, whose City Council yesterday approved the proposal for a venue with the favorable report of the Government Council of Castilla y León. It advertises a good communications network, a building in the heart of the city, next to its Plaza Mayor, with the appropriate characteristics and equipment to house the Agency’s headquarters almost immediately, and a consolidated university ecosystem. The Palma de Mallorca City Council held a plenary session last Thursday in which it presented its candidacy, with the support of the Government, “to position the Balearic Islands in such an important field as Artificial Intelligence.” Finally, the mayor of Segovia, Clara Martín, also presented the project for the Castilian-Leonese city as the venue. There are 17 territories, after the withdrawal of Ourense, with special prominence, a priori, for the Barcelona and Alicante projects.
Seventeen territories compete for each of the headquarters of the large Spanish agencies
Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
There are also 17 territories that opt for the headquarters of the Space Agency. The regional Executive positioned Gran Canaria first, but Tenerife did not resign. Fuerteventura entered the fight in the end in which, among others, are Seville –one of the favorites–, Huelva, Tres Cantos (Madrid), Ciudad Real, Elche (Alicante), León, Guadalajara, Jaén. Valencia, Teruel and San Javier (Murcia).
Volcanological Center.
The intention of the Government of Spain is that the future National Volcanological Center be located in the Canary Islands, within the commitment to decentralize public administrations. Tenerife and La Palma opt to host this center, but there is a regulation that regulates the evaluation of potential applications. “What the technicians say” will be done.
European Tourism Agency.
The Plenary Session of the Cabildo approved, last July and by majority, with only three votes against Sí Podemos Canarias, the proposal to support the candidacy of Tenerife as the headquarters of the European Tourism Agency. It included an amendment presented by the PSOE to a motion for Canarian Coalition, in which it was added that the support was for the candidacy proposed by Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It did not go ahead and the candidacy corresponds to the Island. The intention is that, once it reaches Tenerife, the ideal location for it will be assessed.
Approval in the Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies approved last Thursday -with 177 votes in favor, 75 abstentions and the votes against of 88 deputies, mostly members of the Popular Party-, the regulatory bill for the promotion of the ecosystem of companies emerging. Standard known as the Startup Law, whose approval is accompanied by the creation of the new Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence. This is a public body with full capacity to act and have administrative, inspection and sanctioning powers, from which the safe and reliable use of artificial intelligence systems will be ensured. As areas of work and purposes, it has been defined to act in favor of awareness, dissemination and promotion of training and the development and responsible, sustainable and reliable use of artificial intelligence. Also for the definition of advice and attention mechanisms for society and other actors related to its development and use; collaboration and coordination with other national and supranational supervisory authorities; the promotion of real test environments for artificial intelligence systems, to reinforce the protection of users, and the supervision of the start-up, use or commercialization of systems that include it and those that may pose risks to health, safety and Fundamental rights.
