Key facts
- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed uncertainty about how to address many questions surrounding artificial intelligence.
- Greece is implementing a ban on social media for children under 15 starting in January.
- Greece has run an education pilot with OpenAI to reduce teachers' administrative work.
- Microsoft is building a cluster of data centers near Athens.
- AWS recently announced a deal with Greece's largest utility to build the country's biggest data center.
- Mitsotakis called for listening to AI model builders who express uncertainty about their creations.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis candidly addressed the challenges and uncertainties surrounding artificial intelligence during a visit to San Francisco, while also promoting Greece as a destination for tech investment. Speaking to founders, investors, and operators, Mitsotakis admitted that leaders globally are privately debating many AI-related questions for which he does not have definitive answers.
Mitsotakis described his Bay Area trip as a fact-finding mission, including visits to Tesla and Sequoia Capital, with plans to attend the U.N. General Assembly. He emphasized Greece's economic progress, noting that the country is paying down debt at a record pace and borrows more cheaply than the United States, with its 10-year bond yield around 4.3% compared to U.S. Treasuries at roughly 5%. He highlighted that much of the approximately €36 billion from the EU's post-COVID recovery fund has been invested in digital infrastructure, including an online government portal and a new supercomputer for AI and scientific research.
Policy changes aimed at attracting tech companies were also a focus, with Mitsotakis mentioning adjustments to stock option taxation, loosened labor laws, and tax incentives for returning Greeks. He also noted a turnaround in public universities, which are now producing startups. The prime minister expressed a desire to win back talent lost during the debt crisis and suggested Greece as an alternative for founders facing difficulties obtaining U.S. work visas.
When discussing AI's societal impact, Mitsotakis was notably open about the lack of a complete plan. Greece is set to ban social media for children under 15 in January, a step he suggested might already be insufficient given the addictive nature of AI chatbots. He expressed concern about AI's role in education, acknowledging potential benefits like personalized tutors but warning against students using chatbots to complete homework and the risk of complacency. Regarding AI infrastructure, Mitsotakis noted Greece's welcoming stance towards data center investments, citing projects by Microsoft and AWS, despite global opposition due to energy and water consumption.
Mitsotakis echoed calls from AI developers for a potential slowdown in AI development, stating the need to listen to those building the models who express uncertainty about their self-improvement capabilities. He anticipates some form of "smart regulation" will emerge, largely shaped by the U.S., and suggested Greece would be open to hosting such discussions. He concluded by reflecting on humanity creating an intelligence that rapidly exceeds human capacity, raising questions about the nature of being human and suggesting Athens, with its historical context of philosophical inquiry, as a suitable place for such debates.