Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan delivered a stark message at the Munich Security Conference: Europe must change its stringent regulatory environment or risk losing out on the economic benefits of AI.
Kaplan argued that the continent’s heavy-handed regulations are putting it at a disadvantage against global competitors and are hindering its ability to leverage its deep pool of tech talent and top-tier universities.
The Meta executive pointed to Meta’s open-source approach to AI as a potential boon for Europe, including its Llama series of foundational models.
He emphasized that Meta, along with likes of Amazon and Microsoft, are investing billions into developing foundational AI models, with the idea that Europe’s developers could build upon these without the massive capital outlay themselves.
“All of those extraordinary developers working in Europe right now can build on top of that model for free,” Kaplan stated, as he made a case for Europe to create a supportive regulatory environment.
Kaplan — a Republican who previously served in the George W. Bush administration for eight years including as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy — warned that the current draft of the EU’s AI Act could make open-source AI development in Europe difficult.
With the Act potentially moving in the opposite direction of promoting innovation, Kaplan noted this would place Europe at a considerable disadvantage compared to other regions engaged in the AI arms race.
Kaplan was speaking on the panel alongside Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden and German Bundestag member Franziska Brantner.
The Bigger Picture: The broader implications of over-regulation are not new. The EU has long struggled with creating a tech-friendly environment, and its cautious approach risks stunting growth and innovation further.
As US and China battle it out for supremacy in development of frontier AI models, Europe is more or less sitting out.
Europe’s stringent regulatory framework — exemplified by the draft AI Act has created significant barriers for innovation.
The Act’s intricate compliance requirements force companies, especially startsups, to divert precious resources from research and development to navigating bureaucratic hurdles, driving up costs and delaying product.
This sentiment was also echoed by U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Paris AI Summit last week who said “excessive” AI regulations would kill the transformative industry.