Navigating the next 10 years of computing research in Europe: HiPEAC Vision 2025

In the wake of a series of reports painting a bleak picture of European competitiveness – and hence future prosperity – the HiPEAC Vision 2025 takes a clear-eyed look at the computing sector in the European Union and sets out a series of actionable recommendations applicable to the next 10 years of computing research, tailored to the European context.

Starting from an analysis of the state of the technology sector, the roadmap describes how to implement the ‘next computing paradigm’: a compelling concept which draws on European strengths such as edge computing, digital twins, factory automation, and management of complex systems to deliver technological solutions to real-world problems.

‘One of the most striking observations from the last few decades is that computing technology companies in the United States and China have grown stratospherically, while their European counterparts have lagged behind,’ says Marc Duranton (CEA), the HiPEAC Vision editor-in-chief.

‘As it sees itself relegated to the status of second-rate player, Europe needs to act fast to overcome fragmentation, and a lack of innovation ambition. HiPEAC’s “next computing paradigm”, infused with artificial intelligence, immediately developed and applied to the approach of distributed agentic AI, provides a way forward that draws on the strengths of Europe, such as its capacity to develop edge and on-premise devices, and will be realized via an ecosystem of small and medium enterprises.

But for that to happen, it is important that the European multidisciplinary communities work together to commonly define and develop the ‘next computing paradigm’ technologies in an open way to allow broad acceptance.’

‘The Draghi report, Heitor report and others threw the decline in Europe’s global competitiveness into stark relief,’ adds Professor Koen De Bosschere (Ghent University), the coordinator of HiPEAC. ‘This HiPEAC Vision provides a realistic, inspirational action plan for the computing research community to follow, putting the continent on track for a more positive future.’

Prefaced by an engaging foreword, the HiPEAC Vision 2025 has eight detailed chapters covering the following topics:

• State of the European Union;
• The ‘next computing paradigm’
• Artificial intelligence, and how distributed agentic AI could be a blueprint for the more generic ‘next computing paradigm’;
• New, ever more efficient hardware,
• Tools: How AI could help the HiPEAC community to be more productive;
• Cyber-physical systems, or how the ‘next computing paradigm’ will be more entangled with the real world;
• Cybersecurity, a growing battle between the sword and the shield; and
• Sustainability, an unavoidable requirement.

A comprehensive list of longer and shorter-term recommendations has been provided. These are divided into technological, standardization, methodological and policy recommendations, with a refresher on the status of some key recommendations from the last edition of the HiPEAC Vision.

Exclusive new cartoons by the Belgian comic artist Arnulf have been created for this new edition of the Vision, providing a tongue-in-cheek perspective on the main topics.

The HiPEAC Vision 2025 may be found online here: vision25.hipeac.net.