‘We’re already fighting yesterday’s battle’: Greece’s prime minister gets candid about AI
Most leaders on a trade mission stick to the pitch, but when I interviewed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis this week, he also admitted that no government is ready for what AI is about to do.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited San Francisco on Monday night to promote Greece and gain insights into AI. He toured companies such as Tesla and Sequoia Capital, and plans to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The visit aimed to build bridges with the tech industry and pitch Greece as a potential location for tech companies.
Mitsotakis highlighted Greece's economic growth, noting that the country is paying down its debt at a record pace and borrowing more cheaply than the U.S. He also mentioned that Greece has invested its EU post-COVID recovery fund into digital infrastructure, such as an online portal for government paperwork and a new supercomputer to support AI and scientific research.
Additionally, Mitsotakis discussed policy changes like tax reforms on stock options, eased labor laws, and lower taxes for returning Greeks for up to seven years.
The prime minister addressed the country's growing visa programs, but acknowledged a need for improvement in processing speed. He also shared that Greece's public universities have shifted away from a leftist approach, now focusing on startups. Mitsotakis's primary goal is to attract back the talent that left Greece during the debt crisis.
When discussing AI's societal impact, Mitsotakis expressed candidness about not having a definitive plan. He mentioned a proposed ban on social media for children under 15, which he believes might be outdated in light of AI chatbots. He also commented on AI's role in education, praising OpenAI's pilot program aimed at reducing teachers' workload while remaining cautious about AI replacing fundamental learning.
Mitsotakis pointed out Greece's outlier status when it comes to data center infrastructure, with Microsoft building data centers near Athens and AWS partnering with Greece's largest utility to construct a major data center in a former coal region. He noted that while many countries are opposing data centers due to their energy and water consumption, Greece has not faced significant opposition.
He also expressed cautious optimism about AI's potential, emphasizing the need for a careful approach and collaboration among technologists, social scientists, philosophers, and historians.
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