Spanish Secretary of State: AI as Strategic Infrastructure, Investing Over €1 Billion

en.Wedoany.com Reported - At the DigitalES Summit 2026 conference, Spanish Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, María González Veracruz, positioned digital transformation as one of the main drivers of national growth, emphasizing that Spain and Europe face a historic opportunity to consolidate autonomous capabilities in key areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and data management.

In her remarks at the conference, Veracruz stated that artificial intelligence is not a luxury, an application, or a small toy, but a vital infrastructure for the nation. Drawing a parallel to past government efforts to ensure access to water, electricity, and the internet, she argued that AI is equally tied to citizens' rights, sovereignty, and opportunities. She also warned that this transformation process requires citizen participation, and without trust, the transition will be difficult to achieve.

Technological sovereignty was a recurring concept in Veracruz's speech. She advocated that Europe must have its own infrastructure, models, and capabilities to compete on equal footing with powers like the United States and China. To this end, she highlighted the government-promoted Spanish AI model ALIA, as well as a project investing over €1 billion to attract a European AI superfactory to Spain. She stated that autonomous capabilities must be cultivated to secure more equitable conditions, enable AI to understand our language and culture, and give Europe an independent voice in the development of this technology.

Veracruz believes that the impact of the AI revolution is only the tip of the iceberg. She linked digitalization to improving citizens' daily lives, noting that the ultimate goal of public investment in digital infrastructure, innovation, and talent is to create opportunities and reduce barriers. She affirmed Spain's position in the international digital ecosystem, asserting that the country possesses sufficient talent, infrastructure, innovative enterprises, and scientific capacity to compete in emerging technologies. Finally, she advocated for a humanistic view of AI, arguing that it should help society become more competitive, productive, and stronger, while also being freer, more inclusive, more humane, and more empathetic.

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