Is Geopolitics Reversing the Brussels Effect
Technology geopolitics seems to have reversed the Brussels effect. A year after the EU adopted its landmark legislation to mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence, the rollout seems to have been put on hold amidst heavy lobbying by industry and member states. The EU has just adopted the Apply AI strategy, an industrial policy of sorts to promote all things AI within the EU.
This development comes months after the US launched its AI Action plan to “achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence” and China launched its AI plus initiative that aims to “promote the extensive and in-depth integration of artificial intelligence with all industries and fields of the economy and society”.
The “AI race” narrative seems to be shaping policy priorities worldwide, and everyone wants to “win” this race, whatever that means. This includes removing barriers to scaling new technologies and creating a favourable regulatory environment that encourages innovation.
While the EU has relied on its market size as leverage to set norms for big tech, the current geopolitical climate has turned technology dependence into a vulnerability, potentially causing a shift in its strategy.
The Apply AI Strategy contains the following three sections that might signal a shift in the regulatory direction in the EU.
Targeted measures to boost AI adoption across 10 key industries and the public sector.
Support measures and actions to increase the EU’s technological sovereignty by tackling AI development and adoption challenges.
The creation of a new governance system that brings together AI providers, industry leaders, academia, and the public sector to ensure policy actions are grounded in real-world needs.
Arvind Narayan and Sayash Kapoor argue that AI should be treated as a normal technology. They expect the adoption to gradually move through the stages of innovation, invention, and diffusion. Speed limits across these stages slow the pace of adoption, such as the capability-reliability gap, learning curves, and organisational changes. These allow time for laws and norms to evolve. The race narrative ignores safety concerns in favour of speed. Does this mark a shift from regulation to competition in the EU?