In Greek legend, Achilles was a hero with a single vulnerability—his heel. Similarly, the “Achilles’ heels” of modern AI systems are trust and efficiency. The recently launched ACHILLES Horizon Europe Project (“Human-Centred Machine Learning: Lighter, Clearer, Safer”) aims to address these critical weaknesses.

Bringing together 16 organizations from 10 countries, ACHILLES has significant Portuguese involvement. Led by Fraunhofer Portugal Research (FhAICOS) as the coordinating partner, INESC-ID plays a key role with six researchers leading the Work Package (WP) on AI sustainability and contributing to the WP on Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning and Model Monitoring. Paolo Romano, from Distributed Parallel and Secure Systems, coordinates INESC-ID’s participation, which has a budget of nearly one million euros.

The ACHILLES team seeks to drive responsible AI innovation in line with European values and regulations. Moving away from the traditional “Faster, Higher, Stronger” approach—borrowed from the Olympics, another iconic Greek reference—ACHILLES champions a new framework: “Lighter, Clearer, Safer,” reflecting the evolving demands of modern AI.

“At the heart of ACHILLES is an iterative development cycle inspired by clinical trials,” explained André Carreiro, Senior Scientist and ACHILLES Project Coordinator.

A standout innovation within the project is the ACHILLES Integrated Development Environment (IDE), a machine-learning-driven platform empowering developers to build AI solutions that are not only more effective and efficient but also responsible and ethically compliant. The project will validate its approaches through real-world applications in healthcare, identity verification, content creation, and pharmaceuticals, demonstrating its transformative potential across diverse sectors.

Funded with over €8 million under the Horizon Europe Framework Program, on the cluster of digital, industry and space, ACHILLES is set to redefine the way we approach AI, ensuring it aligns with the values and expectations of modern society.