EU pushes AI adoption while trying to cut reliance on US tech

In short: Europe is urging faster use of AI, but that may increase its dependence on US technology.

What's going on

European Union leaders want businesses to adopt artificial intelligence quickly to improve productivity, which means getting more work done with the same time and staff. But many of the core building blocks for today’s AI come from the United States, according to the Financial Times.

US companies supply much of what sits underneath popular AI services, including advanced chips and the most powerful AI models (the software that produces answers, text, or images). They also control key “distribution” channels, like mobile phone operating systems, app stores, web browsers, and search engines. These are like the main roads and shopping malls of the internet, and they influence which new AI tools people can easily find and use.

Concerns grew after the Trump administration temporarily banned foreign access to Anthropic’s most advanced AI models in June, citing national security. That move raised fears in Europe that access to US technology could be restricted again in the future.

In response, the EU has been working on a “tech sovereignty” plan. The goal is to support European alternatives in areas like semiconductors, cloud computing (renting computing power over the internet), and AI. At the same time, analysts say this clashes with the EU’s push to expand AI use right now, since the fastest path often involves US tools and US-owned infrastructure.

What to watch

European officials are also looking beyond chips and AI models to other choke points, including control over data and the channels that deliver AI products to users. Separately, Europe still faces local hurdles, such as slow permits for building data centres and high energy prices, which can make it harder to build homegrown options.

Source: Financial Times