Key facts
- Europe risks being cut off from AI technology due to its reliance on imports, primarily from the US.
- ECB President Christine Lagarde warned of this unprecedented risk in a speech in Vienna.
- Lagarde stated that AI could lift productivity by up to 4% over a decade if adopted quickly.
- Europe's data center capacity gap is projected to grow more than sixfold within a decade.
- Lagarde urged Europe to build more computing capacity and develop 'good enough' AI models on European infrastructure.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned on Monday that Europe faces an unprecedented risk of being cut off from artificial intelligence technology, urging the region to become a producer of AI rather than solely an importer. Speaking in Vienna, Lagarde emphasized that reliance on foreign AI, particularly from the United States, leaves European sectors vulnerable to access restrictions or changes in terms, granting trade partners leverage in negotiations.
Lagarde highlighted that AI, if quickly adapted, could boost productivity by up to 4% over a decade, offering significant benefits for public finances. However, she noted that Europe already has insufficient data center capacity, a gap projected to widen sixfold within ten years. To mitigate the risk of dependency, she called for building more European computing capacity and developing AI models suitable for most tasks that can run on European infrastructure.