Since the beginning of April this year the European Union's attention has been drawn to some multifaceted dimensions. Three European analysts Pawel Swieboda, Elizabeth Kuiper and Cornelia Walther have drawn attention to aspects that could be used to facilitate the EU with hybrid intelligence.
It has interestingly been pointed out that the European Union faces a multifaceted challenge. In this context, the 2025 Competitiveness Compass details the increasing global competition, rapid technological advancements, and complex societal issues. In this setting, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer futuristic; it is already radically reshaping industries, economies and everyday life. The European Commission's AI Continent Action Plan, is suggesting that the EU has to move beyond a narrow focus on skills and cultivate a new paradigm- where hybrid intelligence (HI) will demand a vital shift in mindsets.
In this context, it is pointed out that hybrid intelligence recognises the potential of combining human and machine capabilities. Consequently, such a move is aimed at curating a synthesis in which each enhances the other's strengths to curate something new that is stronger than both. This necessitates moving away from the traditional emphasis on specific skills toward fostering a all-inclusive understanding of self and society, technology and nature. Analysts are beginning to believe that such a move will help to shape a juxtaposition of collective intelligence, interpersonal adaptability and ethical awareness.
It has been clarified that this type of organically evolving intelligence will arise from the complementarity of natural intelligence (brain and body, individual and collective) and artificial intelligence (AI, its mechanisms and applications).
The analysts, who have been carefully monitoring the evolving landscape have noted that a "surreal confluence of challenges marks the current geopolitical landscape. We see a mixture of human empowerment and erosion of human agency, with individuals experiencing unprecedented opportunities and feeling like tiny cogs in a vast machine, alongside a fraying of social relationships as digital interactions increasingly mediate our connections.
Quite correctly, the EU is worried about the fact that the energy risk looms large, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, while the digital divide continues to widen, creating new inequalities. This scenario is unfolding against the tense background of US/EU relations and a broader questioning of traditional alliances and multilateral institutions. These interconnected risks are forming a complex web that stresses on the need for a coordinated and innovative response.
The EU has taken significant strides in addressing the skills gap through initiatives like the Skills Agenda and the Pact for Skills, set out in the recently presented Union of Skills proposal. These instruments aim to equip the workforce with the technical abilities to navigate the digital age. However, focusing solely on technical skills is insufficient to prepare the EU for an uncertain future.
In a world of rapid technological change, the equation is also focussing on cognitive flexibility. This particularly underlines the need to acknowledge the ability to adapt, learn and unlearn as paramount.
Scientists have indicated that neuroscience research highlights the brain's remarkable capacity for plasticity and its ability to reorganise itself in response to new experiences. Cultivating this cognitive flexibility however requires education and training programmes emphasising critical thinking, problem-solving creativity rather than rote memorisation. The EU scientists are underlining that the brain is our biggest asset in a hybrid society and curating it systematically requires a move away from rigid educational structures toward lifelong learning approaches that encourage continuous adaptation and exploration.
Collaborative intelligence is now also being recognised as a fundamental platform. Hybrid intelligence is fundamentally about the synthesis of humans and AI. This requires individuals who can understand, communicate, coordinate, and co-create with intelligent machines. Fostering collaborative intelligence involves trans-disciplinary teamwork, cross-cultural understanding and genuine empathy.
Such a scenario consequently underlines that education should emphasise social and emotional learning, develop individuals' capacity to build trust, resolve conflicts and work effectively in diverse teams, both human and hybrid. Such a paradigm will require that beyond fixed humans-in-the-loop mechanisms, it is time to tailor organically expanding human-AI loops.
Such a matrix will obviously also require ethical awareness. Analysts are pointing out that as AI systems become more integrated into our lives, ethical considerations become increasingly sensitive. Cultivating a strong sense of values and awareness of moral non-negotiables is essential. Guardrails must be put in place to ensure AI is tailored, trained, tested and targeted with a pro-social ambition in accordance with human values. This requires education and training in ethical reasoning, culture and the societal implications of AI. Policymakers, developers, educators and end-users must be willing and equipped to critically evaluate AI technologies' potential biases, risks and unintended consequences, including the impact of these new assets on their decision-making.
The EU's challenges are intricate and interconnected-- "from climate change via geopolitical upheaval to economic inequality". The EU policy makers understand that addressing these bottlenecks necessitates a shift from linear, reductionist thinking to a holistic, systems-oriented approach. Systems thinking emphasises understanding the interconnectedness of different elements within a system and their ongoing interaction. Cultivating it involves trans-disciplinary research, intersectoral collaboration and policies that go beyond quick fixes to address the root causes of intergenerational problems.
It is this scenario that has persuaded the relevant authorities to effectively equip the EU with hybrid intelligence, and Eu analysts have recommended the following three important policy shifts-
(a) EU should prioritise double literacy in education. Increase investment in education and training programmes that cultivate double literacy, characterised by human and algorithmic literacy-- anchored in the pursuit of cognitive flexibility, collaborative intelligence, ethical awareness, and systems thinking across all levels. Starting in kindergarten, such activity will initiate a lifelong hybrid learning journey;
(b) EU should expand the Skills Agenda and "anchor the future of learning in a 360º perspective of humans, society, and the planet as they depend on it. A more holistic approach is needed, one that cultivates the mindset necessary for effective human-AI collaboration. Equipping the EU with hybrid intelligence requires interconnected mindsets.".
(c) EU should engage diverse actors in AI governance, bringing together policymakers, researchers, industry, educators and civil society to shape ethical AI development and deployment. This is the only way to ensure broader understanding of different issues at stake and build trust. Tools to achieve this aim should include cross-generational and intersectoral public engagement platforms. In parallel, funding for longitudinal research on the societal implications of AI has to be assured. One is confident that given the current leadership, the scenario will be as thought out by the analysts.
According to Fabian Zuleeg, the eminent EU analyst, the EU stands at a serious juncture as "the challenge lies in the risk of individual agency decay, the gradual erosion of relationships, and the loss of a competitive edge at the collective level are both occurring in an explosive geopolitical setting.” It has also been recommended that as the European Commission prepares the AI Continent Action Plan, it should align its funding and policymaking with this new paradigm. It should be so because "it is not merely about upgrading skills; it is about fostering a holistic approach to AI that empowers individuals, strengthens societies, and ensures Europe's prosperous and sustainable future."
Carl Dolan, Senior Adviser on Ethics and Transparency in the European Policy Centre has also referred to another emerging scenario. Golan has pointed out that the tariffs scenario will push "Europe further away and will trigger more cooperation between like-minded countries to reduce the US's clout. Within the EU, even the Trump sympathizers have been hit, reducing the likelihood of open disunity. China correctly read Trump as not being a hawk but erroneously concluded that there would be a tolerable economic deal. Consequently, China now needs Europe more than ever to fight against Trump's measures and as a market for its surpluses.
Before concluding one also needs to refer to the EU's efforts to coordinate EU governance through their Preparedness Union Strategy. This aims to review and upgrade the design of the proposed Single National Plans for the post-2027 period that is expected to assist in building the EU's future comprehensive security architecture. The Preparedness Union Strategy is expected to bring the EU one step closer to realising a comprehensive security direction. In the meantime, the European Commission must push for, and champion, improved governance - both to maximise the impact of a comprehensive security policy direction and also to set out the conditions to fully engage and mobilise the regional level of the EU multi-level governance system.
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is an analyst specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance. muhammadzamir0@gmail.com
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