There are many reasons why the EU will be a shell of itself come 2030.
One key component in this argument is the fact that the EU is cooked when it comes to technology. There are no major technology companies in the region, not at the scale of Nvidia, Apple, Tencent, or Baidu. Instead, you have smaller entities that are crushed by regulation.
There is an old saying:
The US develops it...
China copies it...
The EU regulates it.
When it comes to AI, the EU isn't even on the radar. Regulation has crushed any innovation in the region.
EU Killing Itself With AI
The political and bureaucratic establishment is strong in the EU. They are not giving up control until the zone is completely destroyed. As stated in other articles, the fact the warmongers are in control will be one pathway to doom.
That aside, the second wave of EU regulation pertaining to AI went into effect. This is a crushing blow to those who are outside the EU since those are the leading AI companies. Of course, anyone within the zone has to adhere to the same policies.
This new regulatory chapter extends the device initiated last February 2nd, which laid the foundations for the legal framework of AI by banning certain high-risk practices, such as social scoring or the exploitation of vulnerable people.
Now, requirements are precise and strengthened. Developers of these AIs must ensure respect for copyright, certify the provenance of generated content, and stop massive extractions of personal data. Hate and discriminatory speech must also be proactively filtered.
As always, they political establishment claims it is all about protecting the citizens. On the surface, this makes sense. We see the privacy factors built in. However, does that apply to the government? Of course not.
Surveillance is a no-no unless it is the government doing it.
That is the norm everywhere, so we cannot say this is isolated to the EU. The difference is that Washington, under Trump, is taking a more market driven approach. Then we have the Chinese who simply do what the Chinese want.
Technological Graveyard
The EU is ensuring its demise. I am sorry but it is foolish to think that a major economy can survive without technology. The EU is guaranteeing there will be little innovation coming out of there.
China and the US are the dominant economies. At the same time, they are the technological leaders. The problem for the EU is that technology knows no boundaries. Being outside the game is fatal, especially in an AI era.
For the moment, it might make sense to try and keep the likes of Facebook (Meta) out. However, where does this put the zone in its fight to remain competitive? We will leave aside the fact that most tech companies are likely to ignore the regulation and take the fine, but the point still holds.
Having the other regions race ahead, especially if the foreign players pull out due to regulation, means the companies within the region will not have access to this evolving technology.
Inflated self-importance is fatal in all walks of life. When it comes to geo-politics, the results can be the same.