On 5 July 2024, ESPI had the pleasure of welcoming 32 international students from ELSA (The European Law Students’ Association) to its premises in Vienna. Throughout the 2 hour interactive discussion, the students had the opportunity to engage in a number of thought-provoking sessions related to a wide range of ESPI’s activities, particularly focused on the intersection of space with law, and space with AI.
Research Manager Matija Rencelj gave an initial introduction to ESPI’s mission and vision, followed by an introduction to ESPI’s activities by Research Fellow Laura Corbett. ESPI experts Sara Dalledonne (Research Fellow and Lead on Regulatory Affairs) and Alberto Rueda Carazo (Research Fellow) provided further insights into ESPI’s research and engagement activities. and the discussion ended with a presentation by Laura Corbett on the role and potential of AI in space – both as a research tool, and a research topic. The visit was complemented by a networking coffee session, and multiple Q&A sessions with the students that stimulated some very interesting conversation!
AI has been used as an innovative tool in space operations since as early as the 1980s. Now with the recent boom in Generative AI, the transformative possibilities of the technology for the space sector are seemingly boundless - from Research and Ground Operations, to Satellites, Exploration, and everything in between. These opportunities also call Europe's public actors to develop adapted policy measures to ensure that Europe is at the forefront of such innovation, further accelerating the use of space to support other sectors of policy and economy.
