The quest to build “sovereign” technology systems is increasingly animating European politics — not because of China, but the US.
“The sharp edge of the tech discussion here is actually aimed at the US,” Jacob Kirkegaard, at the Brussels think tank Bruegel, said, remarks echoed by several executives and analysts interviewed by Semafor’s J.D. Capelouto during two weeks in Europe.
The overarching fear dominating a Paris tech conference, WIRED noted, was “the prospect of ending up stuck using American AI, trained on American values”; European countries are seen as unlikely to embrace Chinese AI models and robots.
But Europe’s experience with EVs, where Chinese firms are dominant, serves as a warning against complacency.