Europe Risks Being Cut Off From AI, ECB President Christine Lagarde Warns
Europe has become dangerously dependent on foreign artificial intelligence technology and could face an unprecedented risk if access to it were disrupted, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has warned.
Speaking in Vienna on September 14, Lagarde argued that AI is becoming critical infrastructure for the European economy. Her warning goes beyond competition with the United States: the concern is that Europe increasingly relies on technology and computing capacity it does not control.
Europe's dependence on foreign AI is growing
In her speech published by the European Central Bank, Lagarde said Europe needs to strengthen its technological sovereignty as AI becomes embedded across the economy.
AI systems are increasingly relevant to healthcare, finance, logistics, border management and other essential services. Heavy dependence on infrastructure outside Europe therefore creates a broader economic and strategic vulnerability.
Europe needs more computing infrastructure
One of the central problems is computing capacity. Europe does not currently have enough data-centre infrastructure to meet its expected future demand.
Lagarde argued that Europe needs more domestic computing capacity as well as AI models capable of operating on European infrastructure. According to Reuters, the gap between European demand for computing power and available capacity could grow sixfold over the next decade.
AI could also boost European productivity
The warning was not an argument against artificial intelligence. Lagarde instead called for Europe to adopt the technology more aggressively while reducing its dependence on foreign providers.
Faster AI adoption could raise productivity by as much as 4% over a decade, according to estimates cited in her speech. The challenge for Europe is therefore to capture more of those economic benefits while building enough infrastructure, investment capacity and technology of its own.
