Cabinet approves AI vision focused on healthcare and energy

The Council of Ministers has approved the cabinet's vision on artificial intelligence, titled "Choosing AI for everyone" (Kabinetsvisie op Artificial Intelligence). State Secretary Aerdts, who is responsible for the digital economy and sovereignty, proposed it and will coordinate the approach. The ministries will turn it into plans for their own areas, from healthcare and education to the economy and national security.

Why it matters

• The cabinet wants to remove obstacles that stop small and medium-sized businesses (mkb) from using AI.
• The government will buy more jointly, so organisations do not each have to start from scratch.
• Citizens can join the discussion on the opportunities and limits of AI in 2027 and 2028.

The Netherlands cannot lead in every part of AI, the cabinet says. It will focus on knowledge, companies and infrastructure where economic opportunities and societal challenges meet, such as healthcare, energy, food production, security and the high-tech industry.

The vision rests on three pillars: responsible development and use of AI, access to advanced AI technology and security, and steering the AI transition in line with public values.

The cabinet is working on a broad approach to data centres. A plan for the AI infrastructure and computing power the Netherlands needs will follow in early 2027. It is also investigating whether to set up a Dutch AI safety institute.

The cabinet also wants to help companies and governments apply the European AI Act, including by allowing supervised experiments with new AI applications. With the media sector it is working on a Mediapact, covering reliable information and the use of journalistic content by AI.

We don't need to be able to do everything ourselves, but we do want to decide for ourselves which direction we take.State Secretary Aerdts