Benioff: Europe is slipping behind China and US in AI

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told 12,000 keynote attendees at the company's annual Dreamforce convention in San Francisco on Tuesday that Europe is falling behind China and the United States in AI adoption. "Europe is not as far along as the United States in AI," Benioff said, citing autonomous vehicles as an example: self-driving cars are widespread in China and operating in nine US metropolises, but are absent from Europe except the UK. Benioff's remarks come as Salesforce makes AI central to its business plan and that of its subsidiary Slack while expanding its European operations.

SAN FRANCISCO — Speaking at his company’s annual Dreamforce convention, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told the 12,000 keynote attendees Tuesday that he’d just returned from a two-month trip to Europe and the results were slightly worrying. “Europe is not as far along as the United States in AI. Things are not as far along,” he opined Tuesday. “If you went to Shanghai, that's the farthest along, and then the United States or San Francisco as an example. Europe is not quite as far.” As an example he cited autonomous vehicles. In China the roads are packed with self-driving cars, and they have become a feature in many American cities - initially in San Francisco but later in nine US metropolises. But in Europe, excepting the UK, self-driving cars like Waymo are nowhere to be found. This worries him, as Salesforce is increasingly making AI key to its business plan, and that of its subsidiary Slack, while also trying to expand its European operations.