At a recent gathering of the 27-nation bloc, the newly appointed AI chief, Jim Hagemann Snabe, who also chairs Siemens, presented a vision for leveraging artificial intelligence to boost Europe’s economy. Delegates also voiced worries about safety and emerging risks, according to two participants briefed on the meeting.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team left the session without a clear path, debating whether stricter rules could curb AI dangers or whether such measures might hurt competitiveness and geopolitical standing if rival nations do not follow suit. Further talks among EU leaders are scheduled for later this year.
The situation mirrors meetings in Belgium and elsewhere, where officials admit that legislation drafted two years ago now has limited impact, pending bills are stuck without votes, and international summits on AI quickly fade from agendas. Over twenty interviews with lawmakers, technologists and policy experts describe the policy-technology gap as the widest in modern history.
The United States and China remain the dominant AI developers, yet their approaches diverge sharply. Under the Trump administration, officials argued that regulation would stifle innovation and hand advantage to China, while Beijing has introduced rules mainly to censor chatbot output but continues to push rapid development.
With major AI firms such as Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind urging a slowdown of the most advanced models, a policy vacuum has emerged. The EU’s AI Act, passed in 2024, is still being rolled out and some observers say it already needs revision to address newer general-purpose systems. India, Japan, Australia, Canada and Kenya have opted for lighter or wait-and-see strategies, whereas Brazil debates broader rules. A recent New York Times poll cited by The Indian Express found 61 % of likely US voters opposed new data-center construction for AI.
Diplomatic exchanges highlighted the divide: President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping both emphasized AI’s strategic importance but failed to agree on safety protocols. At the United Nations General Assembly, many leaders called for action on AI hazards, while Trump rejected any “globalist scheme to control” the technology. Safety experts warn that the window for effective oversight is rapidly closing as AI spreads.