Europe is where ChatGPT gets regulated, not invented. That’s something to regret. As unhinged as the initial results of the artificial-intelligence arms race may be, they’re also another reminder of how far the European Union lags behind the US and China when it comes to tech.
How did the land that birthed Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB become the land that tech forgot? Some blame the acronyms synonymous with Brussels red tape — GDPR, DMA, DSA — even though the Googles of this world look far more spooked by ChatGPT than any EU fine. Tech lobbyists are fuming at EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who wants incoming AI rules toughened to rein in a new breed of chatbots.
But maybe Breton’s old company, Atos SE, is a better example of the deeper malaise plaguing European tech. Aerospace champion Airbus SE has proposed an investment in Evidian, the big-data and cybersecurity unit that Atos plans to spin off this year. The potential deal has been presented as a boost to European tech “sovereignty” through growth in cloud and advanced computing.
