FT columnist urges EU to use public buying power to back local AI

In short: A Financial Times columnist argues the EU should stop making AI policy out of fear of “falling behind” and instead use government purchasing to support Europe-made tech.

What happened

An opinion column by Financial Times writer Martin Sandbu says European tech policy is often driven by Fomo, meaning “fear of missing out”. He argues this leads to unhelpful talk about Europe “losing the race” to the US and China on building large language models (AI systems that generate text, like a very advanced autocomplete).

Sandbu says the real goal should be productivity, meaning how much useful work businesses can get done with the same time and money. He notes it is still unclear where most of AI’s economic value will come from. It may come less from training giant AI models and more from using AI across many everyday tasks, including in manufacturing.

The column also warns about costs and dependence. Sandbu points to a shift in the eurozone’s trade balance with the US, from a surplus of about €100bn a year early in the decade to a deficit of more than €50bn last year. He links part of this to rising payments for business services and intellectual property, and says heavier use of US-owned AI models could increase that dependence.

Sandbu’s key suggestion is to use public procurement, meaning government buying, to create steady demand for Europe-made digital tools. He compares it to the EU saying, “come with your money and they will build it” (like promising customers before building a new shop).

Why it matters

If governments buy more local tech for sensitive areas like defense and public data systems, Europe could have more choices, lower long-term costs, and less reliance on foreign suppliers for critical services.

Source: Financial Times