While the rise of artificial intelligence recovers the imperialist enthusiasm of the past among world powers, the European Union is trying to seek its technological autonomy. The decision of the US Government to reserve access to its citizens has established cIt’s like a bucket of cold water in Europe.
Anne Le Hénanff, EU Delegate Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs believes that the Trump Administration’s decision sends a clear message. “The great powers now see strategic technologies as instruments of power. This reality reinforces Europe in the choice it has made: building its technological autonomy. More than ever, European digital sovereignty is a necessity,” he warns.
“Geopolitical, influential and imperialist weapons”
To David CormandMEP since 2019 and member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the twenty-seven, the American veto goes beyond simple competition. “It is the race for the gigantism of these companies so that they can eliminate the competition and be used as geopolitical, influential or imperialist weapons. It is the return of empires with these large technology companies,” he explains in statements to the media.
The MEP, who argues that “no economic model that requires so much investment can respect free competition, consumer rights or even democracy. Their economic model inherently involves behaving like a predator. If they are not predatory, their model is not profitable.”
But Cormand, despite foreseeing future threats, maintains a look of optimism. “The European Union has the strike force, the engineers, the capabilities, including investment, to develop a specific model that could interest many people on Earth.”
Of course, for the moment, “Brussels has neither the appropriate language nor the appropriate pace in the face of powers such as the United States and China, especially in the technological field.” “We are probably at a turning point, where each bloc tries to secure its vital interests,” he concludes. “It’s a fight to the death. There’s no compromise.”
The message from the White House: “Europe is a threat to the United States”
The argument with which Donald Trump’s Government has justified the veto of Anthropic’s most advanced models is clear: it puts American national security at risk. For Sébastien Garnaultexpert specialized in digital sovereignty and transatlantic affairs, it is about another deeper message: “The message, at a global level, is that
“The European Union has known for 18 months that the American president is using all the levers at his disposal to force his partners to align,” explains the expert in conversation with Bfm Tv. However, the bloc is trying to find a plan B and “instead of building strategic autonomy, it continues to reason in terms of organized dependence, hoping that the rules of the game remain stable.”
