CERN AI Core Implementation Plan
Abstract
The CERN AI Strategy 2026-2030, endorsed by CERN Management in March 2026, establishes AI as a core organisational capability alongside computing, detectors, and engineering. This Implementation Plan translates that commitment into a phased programme with a defined resource envelope, governance model, and measurable outcomes reported annually. Its ambition extends beyond deploying existing AI technologies to positioning CERN as a leading laboratory for AI-enabled physics research, built on foundation models, agentic systems, and intelligent assistants, and supported by evolved computing and data infrastructure. The plan also names a set of lighthouse initiatives in two tiers, a nearer-term group expected to deliver within the plan's timeline (common AI infrastructure, information discovery, edge AI, fast simulation, accelerator AI support, physics foundation models) and a more exploratory horizon group likely to mature beyond 2030, with the overall set treated as indicative and subject to review as progress and technology evolve.