Europe risks picking up bill for American AI, says ECB chief

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde has warned that Europe risks footing the bill for the rapid development of American AI without sharing in the profits. Speaking in Vienna, Lagarde emphasized that while importing foreign technologies is acceptable in principle, the widespread use of AI tools across various sectors and the need to share sensitive data with them make the technology a unique case.

She highlighted that within a few years, AI will be responsible for tasks such as screening goods at borders, auditing tax returns, dispatching trains, monitoring patients in hospitals, and clearing payments at banks. Lagarde emphasized that a withdrawal of access to or a change in the terms of AI systems would impact every sector simultaneously - a level of leverage no other trade partner has ever held over Europe.

Moreover, Lagarde pointed out that European savers are currently financing the transformative technology of the age. European households hold approximately €440 billion (US$508 billion) in shares of US tech firms like Nvidia and Alphabet, despite the fact that these companies are being developed elsewhere.

The ECB chief's comments follow high-profile warnings from US AI firms about the potential dangers of rapid AI development, such as rogue AI agents causing harm or outsmarting human-imposed restrictions. Last year, the United States produced 59 notable AI models, while China produced 35, and France and the UK each produced one.