DéFI used its back-to-school congress on Saturday to call for artificial intelligence to be treated as a collective and democratic issue, with a clearer public debate on its opportunities, risks and energy costs.
The move is part of the party’s modernisation process launched in 2025.
During the morning session, MPs François De Smet and Joëlle Maison led a panel discussion on the use of AI in employment, entrepreneurship and education.
The discussion featured Hugues Bersini, a computer science professor at ULB and member of the university’s artificial intelligence laboratory, and Nicolas Debray, founder of Belgium Startup Ecosystem.
The aim, François De Smet said, is to take the time to understand AI’s potential, its risks and the political choices it requires, in order to “get the best from it while protecting ourselves from the worst.”
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Party president Sophie Rohonyi said DéFI does not want to slow the development of artificial intelligence, but to support it within a clear framework that is understood and accepted by the public.
She said this also means opening a debate on the development of data centres and the energy resources needed to run them.
With the electricity grid coming under increasing strain, the party is proposing that power use should be prioritised according to the social value of each connection project.
DéFI says clear and transparent criteria, based on collective benefit, would help decision-makers balance competing energy needs and improve public acceptance of the roll-out of new technologies, including AI.
The party argues that this is essential to avoid the excesses of poorly regulated development and to preserve public trust as technological change accelerates.
Given the democratic and environmental challenges posed by artificial intelligence, DéFI says Belgium and the European Union must urgently define the conditions for developing new energy-efficient models that reflect the realities experienced by citizens in their local areas.
In support of its position, Sophie Rohonyi pointed to Boston Consulting Group projections showing that data centres’ electricity consumption in Belgium could rise from about 2.4% today to more than 10% of national energy consumption by 2035.
