HiPEAC

TechNexus white paper helps Europe navigate complex systems development in the age of AI

The TechNexus Programme has published a new white paper with timely recommendations for the development of complex and critical systems in Europe. Synthesizing expert feedback from workshops at the 2026 HiPEAC conference in Kraków, the paper provides strategic insight for safety-critical systems development at a time of significant upheaval in digital technologies.

Titled ‘Bridging Domains in Large-scale Complex and Critical Systems, 2026 Ed.’, the TechNexus Programme white paper draws on findings from the FORECAST workshop on functional technologies and STEADINESS workshop on systems-level technologies at HiPEAC 2026 in Kraków.

The white paper makes a series of high-level recommendations. For functional technologies, these are as follows:

  • Position Europe's regulatory depth as a strategic advantage for scaling high-precision AI across industry.
  • Support open source as strategic infrastructure for cyber-physical systems, with explicit governance for safety certification.
  • Federate EU AI policy with industrial policy to extend cyber-physical systems applications and associated markets.

For systems-level technologies, the paper makes the following recommendations:

  • Make automation itself a first-class engineering subject.
  • Innovate how we innovate, in light of AI-enabled engineering.
  • Build trust through concrete, high-value evidence.

The white paper’s authors are Adam McKay, Octavian Fratu, Géza Kulcsár, Bernd Westphal, and Charles Robinson. This work is supported by ARROWHEAD and HiPEAC.

TechNexus Programme | Catalysed by HiPEAC | White paper: Bridging Domains in Large-Scale Complex and Critical Systems | https://bit.ly/TechNexus_white_paper_2026


Summary

The TechNexus white paper offers strategic insights for developing complex systems in Europe, emphasizing AI regulation, open-source infrastructure, and innovative engineering practices to enhance safety and trust.