Europe must build own AI or risk getting cut off by US or China, says ECB’s Lagarde

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said Europe must develop its own AI models and datacentres to avoid being cut off by the US or China, warning that the continent's AI dependency could give trade partners unprecedented leverage in negotiations. Lagarde said Europe needs AI models "good enough" to carry out most tasks and run from domestic datacentres, adding that if Europe invests in its own AI tech, "the threat of being cut off loses its force.

Europe must build own AI or risk getting cut off by US or China, says ECB’s Lagarde By Dan Milmo and agencySource: The Guardian Technology https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology Central bank chief says continent’s AI dependency could give trade partners unprecedented leverage in negotiations Europe must develop its own AI technology and build more datacentres in order to nullify the threat of being cut off by the US or China, according to the president of the European Central Bank. Christine Lagarde said the continent needed AI models – the technology that powers AI tools such as chatbots – that were “good enough” to carry out most tasks and run from domestic datacentres. If Europe invests in its own AI tech, said Lagarde, “the threat of being cut off loses its force”. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/14/europe-ai-datacentres-growth-us-china-ecb-christine-lagarde Get AI news in your inbox Daily digest of what matters in AI.