The European project Virtual Innovation Consortium is gaining more and more popularity, but why are we not active… Maria Mateeva - Kazakova, director of the RAS institute, speaks to FAKTII.
- Ms. Kazakova, the European project Virtual Innovation Consortium is gaining more and more popularity. You participated in the scientific conference held in Lisbon. Tell us more. How many countries are already strongly involved in the project…
- This is a project declared by the EC to be strategic for the EU due to its high quality and importance for protecting the technological sovereignty of the union. 11 partners from 8 countries are participating in it – Portugal, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, France, Estonia, Kosovo and Denmark.
In addition to three educational programs – Master's degree mainly for non-specialists in the field of information technology, intensive trainings and certified online trainings in the field of virtual and augmented reality, within the framework of the project, laboratory testing of commercially applicable visualizations for strategic transport systems,
products of Italian design in the segment of super luxury goods,
simulations of building security, for example in climate events caused by global warming, which has almost been erased from the world agenda, but looms over humanity. The master's degrees will be taught in parallel at ISTEC, Portugal, EUNEIZ Spain, UNINT, Italy, and the laboratory simulations will be held at one of the world's most prestigious universities in the field of architecture and design, Politecnico di Milano.
The scientific conference on the topic of applications of XR technologies, including virtual, augmented and mixed reality, in education, architecture, their methods for use, their importance for the sovereignty of the EU was held in Lisbon at the end of October.
- Let us also explain what the EU's financial instruments are in the field of virtual reality…
- The tension on the international scene, especially between China, the US and the EU, covers many other areas, not only trade. We are in an era of rivalry for technological and industrial dominance.
The EU is seeking technological autonomy, but nevertheless, given the complexity of the multi-layered interrelationships, the realistic goal is to achieve the lowest possible level of dependence or to avoid unilateral dependencies.
Currently, technological competition is dominated by the US and China, while the competitive position of the European Union is weakening.
The intensity of investment in research and development relative to GDP in these superpowers in a long-term perspective from 1990 to the present clearly shows this trend.
The European Commission's guiding principle for international research cooperation, which is also applicable to innovation, is: “… to be as open as possible, but as closed as necessary“.
The EU aims to be a producer, not just a consumer, and to develop European supply chains.
One of the instruments under discussion in this regard is the EU Sovereign Technology Fund, but it has not yet been approved. It is planned to be introduced for the period 2028-2035 and its focus is rather on open source software. The Strategic Technology Seal for Europe (STEP), which the Virtual Innovation Consortium has also been awarded, is a rescue, adaptation measure adopted in the middle of the current programming period, which aims to quickly catch up on the lost strategic initiative on the part of the EU. The instrument has its strengths and weaknesses. Its aim is to strengthen the EU's industrial competitiveness by coordinating 11 existing EU funding programs that support critical technologies. However, this is not a smooth process. Serious gaps are emerging, especially in our country.
Bulgaria is one of the few countries in the EU that, due to political delays, has not adapted the relevant programs.
Again, it is a gray spot on the map of strategic innovations. In countries such as Romania, 1.7 billion euros have been reprogrammed, Greece has allocated 284 million euros, and Poland 956 million euros. In this regard, we must also keep in mind our national interest. Bulgaria is part of the EU, but it depends on the initiative of each country where exactly in the union a given innovation will take place. Here, the Ministry of Innovation and Growth must provide information on the delay in the adaptation of the program "Research, Innovation and Digitalization for Smart Transformation", which should provide the necessary funding for projects with Bulgarian participation, awarded with a seal such as VIC. For now, however, the MIR keeps the country in a gray area..
- It is expected to develop a Master's program and online training in the field of virtual reality for doctors, teachers, architects, which will also be able to benefit from Bulgarian specialists. How will this be done?
- Both a Master's program, which will be taught simultaneously at three universities in Italy, Portugal and Spain, as well as online training and intensive face-to-face training are in the process of development. Bulgarian specialists will be able to participate in each of the three forms of training, for which scholarships will be offered, as well as incentives for the inclusion of social groups traditionally underrepresented in the field of high technology, such as women and people from minority communities. For those whose careers do not allow for a full lecture course within a master's program, which will also require extended training outside of Bulgaria, the most accessible and effective will be training within the online modules.
- What is the role of artificial intelligence in the program?
- Artificial intelligence in this case has a complementary role in relation to XR technologies, including virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
When visualizing historical figures, for example, it mimics the mental models of the respective iconic figures, thus recreating the feeling of real two-way and interactive communication. This is an opportunity to achieve significantly more attractive training with serious didactic potential, for example applied at the high school or university level of education.
- The emphasis is on therapeutic applications of the virtual environment that can support mental health. Let's tell you more…
- As explained by Prof. Marco Romano from UNINT University in Rome, one of our partners in the project, students will design virtual environments that support mental health. For example, safe spaces in which patients can gradually overcome phobias such as encounters with spiders in controlled virtual settings, or practice social interactions with avatars controlled by artificial intelligence, in order to reduce anxiety.
- The horizon before virtual simulators is vast. What training can it be used for…
- Students will create, for example, scenarios controlled by artificial intelligence that develop dynamically depending on the actions of the participants. They may design virtual negotiation simulators in which diplomats and politicians can learn how to manage international crises by experiencing first-hand the emotional and cognitive aspects of decision-making in complex global contexts.
- The concept of “digital immortality“ has generated enormous interest because…
- Students will explore the concept of “digital immortality“ by developing ethically sound workflows for reconstructing public figures - or even individuals from historical sources - allowing them to speak, interact and “evolve“ in a digital environment. This requires not only deep technical expertise, but also interdisciplinary competence in areas such as theory of consciousness, ethics, legal frameworks and cybersecurity. Such projects require careful ethical standards and awareness of emerging cyber risks.
Students will be able, for example, to talk with Dante Alighieri on the topics of life and death...All this was presented in detail by our colleagues from Italy within the conference.
- Ethical and research-oriented innovations… What is it?
- Let's take again the phenomenon categorized as “digital immortality“. The ethical aspects that need to be taken into account are many and diverse. From the copyright over the “digital copy“, to those of the relatives of the digitally recreated person. The questions about the control of the technological giants over the “eternal“ digital life are also serious. The emotional effects on families cannot be underestimated. There are also aspects related to access to such a digital continuation of life, due to the financial side of such a service, as well as the fact that digital twins could distort history on the principle of fake news, where true and false facts are mixed, creating a manipulative information illusion.