Finge , Lu z
A icle
A i icial In elligence Made in he U.S.A. – Can Eu ope
Lea n F om he Pas ?
In e economics
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Finge , Lu z (2025) : A i icial In elligence Made in he U.S.A. – Can Eu ope Lea n
F om he Pas ?, In e economics, ISSN 1613-964X, Sciendo, Wa saw, Vol. 60, Iss. 3, pp. 154-159,
h ps://doi.o g/10.2478/ie-2025-0030
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In e economics 2025 | 3
154
Fo um
Lu z Finge
A i icial In elligence Made in he U.S.A. – Can Eu ope Lea n F om
he Pas ?
© The Au ho (s) 2025. Open Access: This a icle is dis ibu ed unde he
e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License
(h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/).
Open Access unding p o ided by ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e
o Economics.
In e economics, 2025, 60(3), 154-159
JEL: C8, G18, O32
DOI: 10.2478/ie-2025-0030
Lu z Finge , Co nell Uni e si y, I haca, NY, USA.
The poli ical clima e has changed, and he US does no
eel like a eliable pa ne anymo e. In Eu ope, leade s
a e pushing o digi al so e eign y. Finally! Eu ope, go o
i ! Bu he plans on he able, he Eu oS ack ini a i e, AI
giga ac o ies, he a i icial in elligence (AI) Ac and mas-
si e in es men unds gi e me chills. Eu ope, ha e we no
been he e be o e?
The same pa e n keeps epea ing:
• Eu ope inno a es;
• The U.S. scales i ;
• The U.S. se s business ules o i s ad an age;
• Eu ope egula es;
• Those egula ions end up hu ing Eu opean inno a ion.
I ha e spen 30 yea s building AI and da a-d i en p od-
uc s. Le us ake a look a some o he Big Tech e olu-
ions ha ha e c ea ed massi e weal h and oppo uni y –
mos ly ou side o Eu ope.
The e olu ion o Big Tech
The In e ne e olu ion
The In e ne was in en ed in Eu ope, bu he U.S. scaled
i . Google ook o e sea ch and ad e ising, while Cisco
buil he backbone o he global digi al economy. In his
economy, da a became he new gold. The mo e da a
Google had, he be e i s se ices became. And he be -
e i s se ices became, he mo e da a i collec ed – a pe -
ec lywheel.
Eu ope ied o s ep in wi h ules like he Gene al Da a
P o ec ion Regula ion (GDPR), bu ech gian s we e al-
eady es ablished and i was oo la e o challenge hei
posi ion. The new ules we e only a small bu den o Big
Tech, and hey adap ed easily, while Eu opean s a ups
s uggled wi h compliance, complexi y and cos s. Today,
Eu ope’s In e ne uns on U.S. ech, and he In e ne as
we now know i is made in he U.S.A.
The mobile e olu ion
In he 2000s, Eu ope led he way in mobile echnology –
Nokia and E icsson uled he ma ke . Despi e his ea ly
success, hese companies missed he mobile In e ne op-
po uni y, and he U.S. ook o e . Apple and Google e-
shaped how we communica e and how we engage wi h
he In e ne and sma de ices. Apple buil he app econ-
omy and de ined i s ules. As a esul , Apple o Google
ea ned a po ion o he sale o e e y audiobook sold in
Eu ope. Was ha un ai ? No eally. They designed he
new economy while Eu ope was wa ching.
The EU e en ually s epped in wi h he Digi al Ma ke s
Ac in 2022 o limi he each o Big Tech. The only p ob-
lem was ha i ook he EU 16 yea s o come up wi h his
egula ion – by hen, Apple’s ma ke alue had g own o
wel e imes ha o SAP. Mobile echnology is made in
he U.S.A.
The social media e olu ion
The same hing happened wi h social media. Facebook
was launched a ound he same ime ha Ge many was
using S udiVZ, a social ne wo king pla o m o s uden s,
which g ew a i s bu could no compe e wi h Facebook.
Why? Social ne wo ks o e a huge business ad an age:
ne wo k e ec s. The mo e people join, he s onge hey
ge . Facebook and LinkedIn used his o domina e. Could
Eu ope ha e helped i s own companies? Yes – bu i did
no . O e ime, hese pla o ms con olled he media con-
en ha was seen online. Media companies s uggled
and jobs we e los while Facebook kep g owing, deli e -
ing alue o use s, employees and in es o s.
The EU e en ually s epped in wi h he Digi al Se ices Ac
(DSA) in 2022 o egula e con en and pla o m accoun -
abili y. Bu i was oo la e. The U.S. had essen ially be-
come he ga ekeepe o u h in he digi al wo ld – and, as
J.D. Vance blun ly old Eu opean leade s a he Munich
Secu i y Con e ence, hey plan o keep i ha way. Social
media is made in he U.S.A.
ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e o Economics 155
Fo um
The cloud e olu ion
The cloud is ye ano he example o he same pa e n. Eu-
ope played a ole in ea ly cloud compu ing. Companies
like SAP led in en e p ise so wa e, and Deu sche Tele-
kom expe imen ed wi h cloud se ices. Bu once again,
he U.S. ook o e . Amazon Web Se ices and Mic oso
Azu e seized he oppo uni y, in es ed hea ily and be-
came he ech gian s hey a e oday.
Eu opean cloud p o ide s – OVHcloud, 1&1 Cloud and
a ious s a ups – s uggled o compe e. Ins ead o help-
ing homeg own al e na i es, he EU ocused on egula ing
whe e da a could and should be s o ed. Too li le, oo la e.
Today, Eu opean businesses un on Ame ican cloud p o-
ide s o hei da a. The cloud is made in he U.S.A.
Will his o y epea i sel wi h he AI e olu ion?
I looks like his o y is abou o epea i sel – again. Eu ope
s a ed s ong in AI esea ch. In 2022, EU esea che s pub-
lished 101,455 AI esea ch pape s, compa ed o 81,130 in
he U.S. Many ea ly b eak h oughs came om Eu ope, like
DeepMind – hen a UK s a up, now pa o Alphabe Inc.
Bu once again, he U.S. – no Eu ope – scaled AI o busi-
nesses and p oduc s. OpenAI, Google and An h opic
lead in ounda ion models, while N idia domina es AI
ha dwa e. I once compa ed he ma ke alue o he op
en U.S. AI companies o he op en in Eu ope – i Eu ope
we e en cen ime e s all, he U.S. would be 1.92 me e s
(Finge , 2025a).
While U.S. companies ocused on g ow h, Eu ope o-
cused on conce ns and secu i y. The U.S. does no un-
de s and why. Aneesh Chop a, Obama’s o me CTO and
now pa o he Na ional AI Council suppo ing he Whi e
House said i blun ly a a ecen discussion a Co nell Uni-
e si y: “Eu ope con uses me.”1 Ins ead o using he mo-
men o inno a e, he EU in oduced he AI Ac , making
i ha de o Eu opean businesses o compe e. In ecen
mon hs, Eu ope has ied o walk back some o i s poli-
cies. Addi ionally, in Ap il 2025, he Eu opean Commis-
sion launched i s AI Con inen Ac ion Plan, signaling a
commi men o a mo e p oac i e ole in he global AI eco-
sys em. I p omises suppo o s a ups, public supe -
compu ing in as uc u e and ha monised da a spaces –
all i al ing edien s. Ye , Eu ope is no seen as a leade in
AI. AI is s ill made in he U.S.A. – o China.
1 h ps://www.linkedin.com/pos s/lu z inge _us-china-eu ope-
ac i i y-7300515012362563584-umcT?u m_sou ce=sha e&u m_
medium=membe _desk op& cm=ACoAAABcsOEBZXsWk dKH
WA0-HuspA y7 y5xWo.
The impac o U.S. dominance
Failing o ake ad an age o new echnology has made Eu-
ope less weal hy and mo e dependen on he U.S. Wi h AI,
hese nega i e e ec s on Eu ope will only g ow exponen ially.
AI is o en desc ibed as “a housand hands” o “a hou-
sand help ul assis an s.” Le us ake ha a ace alue. Im-
agine AI eally is a helpe – bu one ha has been ained
wi h a comple ely di e en cul u e and se o alues. Addi-
ionally, le us imagine ha his helpe will no ollow you
ules and laws bu hose o someone else.
Tha could ha e se ious consequences. We can b eak i
down in o wo big a eas:
• Who decides wha hose AI models know?
• Who decides wha hose AI models a e allowed o do –
o no do?
La ge language models con ain hidden no ms
La ge language models (LLMs) like Cha GPT a e sen ence
comple ion. Fo example, hey will comple e a sen ence
like “Li e is like a box o ” wi h he wo d “chocola e” as i
was he meme om he mo ie Fo es Gump. Someone
who has no seen his mo ie migh be wonde ing: Why
“chocola e”? Why no “su p ises”? Because mos o he
da a con ained he wo d “chocola e” as he nex wo d.
LLMs a e ained on da a. Bu who con ols ha da a?
Such da a biases a e e e ywhe e. A model ha is mos -
ly ained on English-language da a will na u ally e lec
Anglo-Ame ican pe spec i es – po en ially pushing non-
English iewpoin s o he sidelines. Spo ing hese biases
is no always as ob ious as Google Maps enaming he
Gul o Mexico o he Gul o Ame ica, o as easy o no ice
as DeepSeek’s esponses aligning wi h Chinese Commu-
nis Pa y iews on opics like human igh s and Taiwan.
AI is no neu al. We, as AI p ac i ione s, make choices in
designing AI: wha da a o include, wha o lea e ou , how
o handle biases, e c. All o hose decisions a e shaped
by humans. And hose humans a e in luenced by alues.
I AI is made in he U.S.A., he u u e will be shaped by
U.S. alues – no Eu opean ones.
The hidden con ols shaping la ge language models
LLMs do no jus lea n om da a – hey a e also shaped
by ules ha con ol hei beha io . De elope s se guide-
lines o make su e AI ollows ce ain e hical s anda ds and
socie al no ms.
In e economics 2025 | 3
156
Fo um
Take Google’s Gemini AI, o example. I aced backlash
o gene a ing his o ically inaccu a e images – like depic -
ing he Founding Fa he s as acially di e se. Allegedly,
Google has c ea ed a ule: “Fo each depic ion including
people, explici ly speci y di e en gende s and e hnici ies
e ms [...] I wan o make su e ha all g oups a e ep e-
sen ed equally.”2 Bu who dic a es hese ules?
And who decides when o igno e hem? One o my s u-
den s ecen ly asked di e en AI models wha i would
ake o o e u n U.S. democ acy. DeepSeek and G ok
ga e de ailed esponses – e e y hing om packing he
cou s o sp eading misin o ma ion. Gemini, on he o he
hand, e used o answe , claiming i did no know (Finge ,
2025b). Tha is no ue – i is wha we call a gua d ail. A
human se ule ha s ops he AI om answe ing. Who
decides hose ules? In his case, a p oduc manage si -
ing in Silicon Valley.
I AI is made in he U.S.A., hen he powe o de ine igh
and w ong will also be in he U.S. And ha is no all. No
one eally knows wha comes nex . I do no belie e ha
we will see a i icial gene al in elligence any ime soon, bu
AI is e ol ing as . Soon, AI agen s will be shopping o
us, eaching ou kids and ans o ming businesses. En i e
indus ies will change. People will need o eskill.
I Eu ope does no ac , all o his will happen unde U.S.
ules and con ol.
Eu ope should os e inno a ion
Wha can Eu ope do? Eu ope’s i s eac ion is he same
as always – h ow mo e money a he p oblem. A good
s a o su e, bu a e a om he solu ion.
I I am cu en ly aising money o my s a up, I would ake
unding om Eu ope o he U.S. Money is money. The eal
ques ion is: Whe e should I build my company? A e con-
side ing he op ions, he choice is clea : in he U.S., whe e
he e is an oppo uni y o build some hing.
So i money is no he only solu ion, wha a e he o he s?
He e a e eigh sugges ions.
Do no be s uck in he pas
Policymake s need o unde s and ha he i s ule is ha
AI ep esen s a undamen al shi – a new pa adigm. And
wi h new pa adigms come new business oppo uni ies,
which, in u n, shape new ules.
2 h ps:// wi e .com/jcono g ogan/s a us/1760515910157078931?s=6
1& =41mXeZMTTJy5nCa og-PSw.
Recen ly, I me wi h Ge man o icials who had a eled o
Silicon Valley o alk o LLM companies. They hink ha
Gemini and Cha GPT should be classi ied as publishe s.
Really?
The e has been a lo o discussion abou he so-called
“dea h o blue links.” The co e idea is such: Google used o
p o ide 20 blue links pe sea ch page, AI-cu a ed bu use -
selec ed. The use had he powe o choose. Now, wi h AI
gene a ing di ec answe s, hose 20 links a e gone – along
wi h he use ’s abili y o decide. Google, OpenAI and he
Chinese company DeepSeek de e mine wha we see.
Those o icials claimed his shi makes Google a publish-
e . Pe haps. Bu is ha e en he igh deba e? I in o ma-
ion is no longe s uc u ed he same way, does “publish-
ing” s ill mean wha i used o? And e en i ha label we e
slapped on o Google, does i eally ma e ? Will Google
domina e his new game? Tha is a om ce ain. His o y
sugges s Google s uggles wi h ue inno a ion.
So, ule numbe one: New pa adigms b ing new oppo u-
ni ies, new business models and new ules. Do no egu-
la e yes e day’s game.
Reduce isk o lowe cos
The ollowing sugges ions a e all abou making inno a ion
possible. The EU needs o c ea e an en i onmen whe e
new ideas can h i e. Again, inno a ion is no easy o buy.
I means making i easie o s a and g ow an inno a i e
business – by lowe ing isks and cu ing he cos s o y-
ing new hings.
Reduce sys emic isk
Back in 1996, he U.S. passed Sec ion 230 o he Com-
munica ions Decency Ac , a game-change o In e ne
pla o ms.3 I p o ec ed companies om being sued o e
use -gene a ed con en , allowing pla o ms like Face-
book, YouTube and Twi e o g ow as wi hou cons an
legal h ea s. By educing isk, he U.S. c ea ed an en i-
onmen whe e digi al businesses could h i e.
Now, imagine i Eu ope did some hing simila o AI – a
liabili y shield ha gi es s a ups he eedom o expe i-
men . AI companies will y hings, and no e e y hing will
wo k. I helped build Google Heal h, and oday, he e is a
lo o alk abou a “nu se in you pocke ” – an AI model
ha explains medical in o ma ion. Tha will be he u u e.
Bu AI is no pe ec , and i will make mis akes. Who akes
3 h ps://www.jus ice.go /a chi es/ag/depa men -jus ice-s- e iew-
sec ion-230-communica ions-decency-ac -1996.
ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e o Economics 157
Fo um
esponsibili y when i does? On he one hand, Eu ope
sugges s ha i is lexible in i s policies, while on he o he
hand, Eu ope wan s o be he place o “ us wo hy” AI.
This is a di icul balance no only o keep bu also o com-
munica e o inno a o s.
The ewe he es ic ions placed on AI s a ups, he mo e in-
no a ion is encou aged. Bu igh now, Eu opean policymak-
e s seem mo e ocused on limi ing AI isks han enabling i s
g ow h. Take Spain, o example – i jus passed a law wi h
hea y ines o companies ha ail o label AI-gene a ed con-
en , wi h he goal o s opping deep akes and misin o ma-
ion. Tha sounds good bu i is ye ano he laye o ed ape
ha makes Eu ope less a ac i e o AI companies.
The isks o AI should be aken e y se iously. Bu hose
isks exis whe he AI is buil in Eu ope o he U.S. S ic
egula ions will no s op AI inno a ion; hey will jus de-
e mine whe e i happens and who con ols i . And i Eu-
ope makes i oo ha d, AI will simply be buil somewhe e
else.
Reduce egula o y o e sigh
Na iga ing Eu ope’s egula ions – especially GDPR – has
been a challenge o businesses ope a ing in Eu ope. GD-
PR was designed o p o ec use p i acy, which is g ea .
Bu in p ac ice, i comes wi h compliance cos s. Fo small
companies and s a ups, hese cos s can be o e whelm-
ing, making i ha de o inno a e and compe e.
Now, he EU wan s o ake he same app oach in egula ing
AI wi h he AI Ac . Allow me o sha e my own expe ience.
My s a up, 2decide, is a gene a i e AI pla o m. We ake
p oduc da a and use -gene a ed con en , b eak i down
in o small elemen s and use hose o imp o e sea ch. By
using cu ing edge esea ch, we a e ou pe o ming big
companies by up o 50%. We also p o ide AI-d i en shop-
ping ad ice, boos ing e-comme ce e enues by 5%-10%.
Who was my i s cus ome ? A Ge man e-comme ce
shop. I am Ge man, so i made sense o expand om
Eu ope. When I asked my ad iso s, including some om
Eu ope, hei answe was a clea “no” in unison. GDPR
compliance and o he egula ions would slow e e y hing
down. Ins ead, he unanimous ecommenda ion was o
ocus on g owing in he U.S. I am now building AI-pow-
e ed e-comme ce solu ions, helping U.S. companies o
g ow hei e enue.
And I am no alone. E en big companies s uggle wi h Eu-
ope’s s ic ules. Apple, o example, has delayed olling
ou new AI ea u es – like imp o emen s o Si i – because
o EU egula ions.
B eak down moa s
Eu ope is la e o he AI game. Many o he ech gian s
won because hey had ze o ma ginal cos s and ne wo k
e ec s, c ea ing massi e ad an ages. This has led o
winne - akes-all ma ke s, whe e he bigges playe s build
deep moa s ha keep compe i o s ou . I he EU wan s o
ca ch up, i will need o b eak down hese ba ie s.
Take social media as an example. Facebook and X (Twi -
e ) domina e because o hei ne wo ks – hei moa is
hei use base. I someone ies o build an al e na i e,
hey will likely ail unless companies a e equi ed o open
up hei ne wo ks. One simple ix would be o allow us-
e s o ans e all hei connec ions o a new pla o m.
This idea is no new, bu i was always ejec ed because
o p i acy laws. Mo ing con ac s o a new se ice would
mean ans e ing pe sonal da a o you ne wo k. I oni-
cally, hese p i acy ules help Facebook s ay as dominan
as hey a e. I use s could mo e hei en i e ne wo k, new
pla o ms could s i e o e nigh , c ea ing mo e compe i-
ion and inno a ion.
The EU is 22 yea s oo la e o b eak down his moa , bu
AI c ea es new moa s and new oppo uni ies o i o ac .
T anspa ency
LLMs a e building new moa s. Amazon knows wha you
buy. Ne lix knows wha you wa ch. Bu Cha GPT and
Gemini? They will know all you con e sa ions. T y i you -
sel – ask Cha GPT wha i knows abou you. I did, and i e-
plied: “I know qui e a bi abou you in e es s and p ojec s!
He e’s a summa y o you ca ee , expe ise, pe sonal in e -
es s…”. I e en men ioned ha I am w i ing his e y a icle.
Now, imagine i use s could ans e his knowledge –
jus like mo ing hei con ac s om Facebook. I Eu ope
made companies o e da a po abili y, new Amazons,
new Googles and new Ne lix-s yle se ices could pop up
o e nigh , al eady knowing use ’s p e e ences. All i would
ake is indi idual consen o mo e he pe sonal da a.
Sounds g ea , igh ? Yes, bu execu ion is e e y hing. The
EU ied some hing simila be o e wi h Paymen Se ices Di-
ec i e 2. I was supposed o open up banking and educe
ees by le ing use s sha e hei inancial da a wi h compe i-
o s. Bu i was so complica ed ha only big playe s like Visa
and Mas e ca d had he esou ces o implemen i p ope ly.
Enable access o da a
AI needs da a – wi hou i , he e is no AI. We ha e al eady
alked abou how con olling da a can lead o ou side in-
In e economics 2025 | 3
158
Fo um
luence. Bu he e is ano he challenge – who is allowed o
use he da a?
OpenAI sc aped massi e amoun s o in o ma ion, o en
igno ing legal conce ns. Now, Eu ope wan s o p o ec in-
ellec ual p ope y (IP), which makes sense. Bu i igno es
ule numbe one (see abo e) — he ules o IP a e chang-
ing, and he u u e will look e y di e en .
The EU is ac i ely p omo ing he concep o Eu opean
“da a spaces” in sec o s such as heal h, mobili y, ene gy,
and inance – s uc u ed en i onmen s whe e da a access
and usage a e igh ly go e ned. Howe e , his emphasis
on go e nance s ands in s a k con as o how companies
ypically iew da a: as a compe i i e moa . By egula ing
he pa hways o access and use da a, he EU isks weak-
ening he e y ad an age companies seek o build. As a
esul , inno a o s may choose o ain hei models else-
whe e, whe e access o aluable da a is less cons ained.
Regula ing da a access will bene i big playe s like OpenAI
who ha e al eady collec ed huge da ase s. Bu i will hu
po en ial new Eu opean AI s a ups ha a e ying o com-
pe e.
Meanwhile, Japan ook a di e en app oach. I allows AI
companies o ain on copy igh ed ma e ial wi hou need-
ing pe mission. No lawsui s, no copy igh claims – jus
clea ules ha make i easie o inno a e. This has e-
mo ed a huge legal oadblock, gi ing AI companies he
eedom o expe imen and g ow.
I Eu ope wan s o be a se ious playe in AI, i may need o
e hink i s app oach o da a access and copy igh . O he -
wise, i is jus making i ha de o i s own companies o
compe e.
Open weigh s
AI does no wo k like adi ional so wa e. In egula so -
wa e, code dic a es how hings unc ion. Bu in AI, he eal
knowledge is s o ed in he model’s weigh s. A weigh is
essen ially a coe icien in a unc ion. LLMs ha e billions
o weigh s.
Fo example, Cha GPT was ained on he wo ld wide
web, and ha knowledge is now inside i s weigh s. E en
his a icle, once uploaded, will become pa o hose
weigh s. Tha is why companies like OpenAI and Google
keep hem sec e – hey a e aluable, p op ie a y asse s
ha gi e hem a compe i i e edge.
Wha i Eu ope equi ed AI models o ha e open weigh s?
This would make AI mo e anspa en , allowing people o
check o biases and unde s and how he models wo k.
This would challenge U.S. i ms like OpenAI, o cing hem
o le el he playing ield, and gi e Eu opean businesses a
eal chance o compe e.
Imp o e alen
Eu ope and echnology adop ion
How do Eu opeans adop new echnologies? China made
AI adop ion a key pa o i s na ional s a egy; companies
ac i ely push AI ools and ain people o use hem. The U.S.
is lagging behind in ha – bu Eu ope is e en u he behind.
In San F ancisco, you can hop in o a sel -d i ing ca –
i has become a ou is a ac ion because people can-
no belie e wha AI can al eady do. Tha kind o exposu e
d i es adop ion. Eu ope needs o ca ch up.
T ain AI alen
AI is no eplacing humans – i is helping us and scaling
ou wo k. Bu o ha o happen, people need o know
how o use i . I see his i s hand in my eCo nell Ce i i-
ca e P og am, Designing and Building AI Solu ions. I is a
no-code cou se, so anyone can join, ega dless o echni-
cal backg ound. To suppo e e y s uden , I buil an AI co-
ins uc o – basically, I eplaced mysel wi h an AI e sion
o me. I ack how s uden s use AI. I can see ha he mo e
we ain hem, he be e and mo e e ec i ely hey use i .
The u u e o alue c ea ion is no jus in building AI – i
is in using i well. I Eu ope wan s o s ay compe i i e, AI
aining needs o each e e yone. The ecen emphasis
on AI li e acy, wi h plans o educa e ci izens and wo ke s
o adap o new echnologies, is spo on.
S igma o ailing
I hea his all he ime: “Eu opeans a e mo e isk-a e se.”
As an angel in es o and en u e pa ne , I ha e me plen-
y o Eu opean ounde s, and hey a e no a aid o isk.
The eal p oblem is ha Eu ope s acks he odds agains
hem.
In he U.S., bank up cy is no he end – i is o en seen
as a lea ning expe ience. The U.S. Chap e 11 bank up cy
code le s businesses es uc u e deb and keep going. In
Eu ope, bank up cy seems like a big s igma. Many Eu o-
pean coun ies make i ex emely ha d o eco e om
such a “ ailu e”:
• en ep eneu s can be banned om s a ing new com-
panies;
• hey can ace limi ed access o c edi ;
ZBW – Leibniz In o ma ion Cen e o Economics 159
Fo um
• in some cases, hey e en ge p o essionally blacklis ed;
• on op o ha , he e is a huge social s igma a ound
ailu e.
All o his backlash because hey ied. Eu opeans a e no
isk a e se. Eu ope jus makes isk- aking ha de .
Many coun e a gumen s
I Eu ope pu s all o his oge he , i has a eal sho a us-
ing AI o good – c ea ing alue, boos ing inno a ion and
making he economy s onge . Maybe i can e en become
a pa ne o he U.S. Tha said – I can al eady hea he
coun e a gumen s.
• Less AI egula ion? We could isk li es, jus like Sec ion
230 le Facebook sp ead ha m ul misin o ma ion.
• Loose da a p o ec ion? People migh misuse pe sonal
da a.
• Open weigh s? This will lead o a/ano he a i wa .
The conce ns a e well- ounded, bu egula ion is always
a balancing ac – be ween he needs o ci izens, go e n-
men s and businesses.
In he pas , Eu ope ocused mo e on p o ec ing ci izens.
I was no a pa ne o he U.S. I was a ma ke . Mean-
while, he U.S. and China ocused on g ow h and inno a-
ion.
Eu ope los e e y digi al e olu ion, om mobile o cloud.
I Eu ope wan s o s ay ele an , i mus ac now – lowe
ba ie s, a ac alen and s a compe ing wi h he U.S.
and China.
Is Eu ope oo la e?
No, he AI e olu ion jus s a ed. Good egula ions, when
done igh , can ac ually help new ma ke leade s eme ge.
Look a Amazon: Eu ope a leas managed o ein in some
o i s powe – no in he way ha he EU had planned, bu
i was s ill e ec i e. In 2021, he EU in oduced a ule ha
allowed goods unde €150 o be impo ed wi hou cus-
oms du ies. Jus a yea la e , Temu launched, aking ull
ad an age o his se up.
Fas o wa d o oday – Temu has 104.6 million mon hly
isi o s, mo e han wice he a ic o O o, a long-s and-
ing Ge man e aile .
I do no hink ha Eu ope in ended o help Temu and
China, bu ce ainly we can ag ee ha i Eu ope se s
he igh ules, i can c ea e a business- iendly en i on-
men .
Whe e o go om he e
AI is changing e e y hing. The EU has plen y o a eas o
ocus on, bu one o he bigges shi s will be in he eco-
sys em o media. LLMs know e e y hing. So how do we
cha ge o in o ma ion in his new wo ld? Media made
money h ough b ands and subsc ip ions o publishe s.
Then he model shi ed o ads. And now?
Wan o hea a li le sec e ? I did no w i e his a icle
alone. I collabo a ed wi h Clone Lu z Finge (an AI e -
sion o me ha I buil o my class). And yes, I also alked
o Cha GPT. Essen ially, I w o e his a icle oge he wi h
he knowledge o he millions o w i e s, YouTube s and
publishe s who c ea ed con en and ha is s o ed in he
weigh s o Cha GPT. None o he in o ma ion he e is uly
unique. Did I ha e an o iginal hough ? Well, i would no
be unique anymo e since I ha e sha ed i wi h Cha GPT.
Wha was unique? My choices. I decided which ideas o
use and which o igno e. I had agency.
How do I ge paid o ha in he new wo ld? How do I
ge paid when I ha e a unique insigh o a unique choice?
The sys em o IP igh s is b oken o now. New models will
eme ge, new ways o paying, new ways o using in o ma-
ion.
Who will lead Eu opean AI?
Who will lead his new wo ld? No one knows o ce ain.
We need Eu opean leade ship — no only poli ical leade -
ship — bu also bold inno a o s and en ep eneu s like
he ones who s a ed Mis al, ChapsVision, Hugging Face
and o he AI leade s. To win digi al so e eign y, Eu opean
companies need o ou pe o m US leade s. Imagine Nex -
cloud o e ing sma e AI ools o manage you emails and
calenda han Google o Mic oso . Imagine IONOS o e -
ing GenAI- eady s o e on s o all businesses. Imagine
P es aShop and Shopwa e c ea ing pe sonalised and
a ge ed landing pages o any con en . Imagine Compu-
G oup suppo ing each doc o wi h an AI sc ibe. The lis
could go on. AI has c ea ed a new oppo uni y o Eu ope,
bu Eu ope needs o be as . Le us no gi e up on Eu ope.
Le us build i .
Re e ences
Finge , L. (2025a, Feb ua y 10). Mac on’s AI In es men – Bu Eu ope Will
Need To Do Mo e To Ca ch Up. Fo bes.
Finge , L. (2025b, Ma ch 31). T ump’s Thi d Te m – The Role O AI In C ea -
ing A S a egy. Fo bes.
