Mario Draghi dreamt it, Donald Trump announced it. “Stargate,” the mega-project to invest in infrastructure to develop artificial intelligence (AI), was unveiled by Trump on Tuesday, January 21. The initiative sends a simple and effective message that the European Union is still unable to convey: A major power setting itself the goal of being at the forefront of a new technological frontier. While the European Union is still in the process of diagnosing its economic stall, as highlighted by the Draghi report, the gap between the EU and the United States threatens to widen even further, to the benefit of the latter, which is demonstrating its strength by aligning its political objectives with technological advancements and investment capacity.
Trump has become the spokesperson for a private initiative – pledging to spend $100 billion (€96 billion) immediately, then another $400 billion by the end of his term – to build massive data centers in the US and an energy system capable of powering them. At this stage, investment in these “AI factories” in Europe is capped at €1.5 billion. The American project will be implemented by cloud specialist Oracle, Japanese investment giant Softbank and generative AI start-up OpenAI.
Even if too much shouldn’t be read into the hype, the US can be given credit once again for having a keen sense of marketing, with a name that evokes the conquest of space, significant sums of money and a mobilizing narrative: “This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president,” boasted Trump.
A sprinkling of investments
It may be argued that some of these investments had already been announced, that industry players didn’t wait for Trump to anticipate the revolution underway, that financing still needs to be mobilized, and that the 100,000 “immediate” job creations are more of a slogan than an economic reality. Regardless, it’s clear that, once again, Europe will find it hard to respond. Its capacities are still fragmented, its decision-making processes are still laborious and its ability to attract investment for such projects is no match for that of the US.
Europe remains cowering in its defensive posture in the face of the onslaught of its rivals. Initiatives are limited to establishing standards, creating ineffective barriers and making a few investments to create the illusion of action. Since Trump’s inauguration, the planet has been living to the rhythm of his executive orders, while almost a year will have passed between the end of the European Parliament’s last legislature and the first decisions of the new Commission expected in the next few weeks. This way of working is no longer suitable for the demands of today’s world.
Everything needs to be reviewed to mitigate this cruel contrast: governance, mobilizing capital and initiatives. Above all, the 27 member states need to focus on areas where the Union effectively tackles threats to our sovereignty and thwarts the risks of creeping subservience. But who is saying this? The extremes believe that Europe is the problem, not the solution, while the rest of the political class is content with incantations. But the time for action is now. History never repeats itself.
This post was originally published on here
