In recent weeks, China and the US both indicated how they would like global AI to happen. The US says it wants to globally dominate it, and have it regulated to reflect only American right-wing values, and deny climate change. China, too, wants to be the global AI leader, but it emphasized safety and international co-operation. The EU has already laid out its vision in its recent EU AI Act, which is law in the bloc's 27 member states. It is far more aligned with China's vision than America's.
As this article points out, AI is far from the only area where the EU now finds it has more in common with Chinese values than American ones. The same is true for Climate Change, International Trade, and relations with the Global South.
The EU & the US both face a common challenge from China – how to protect their economies from the juggernaut of Chinese manufacturing and industrial prowess. The US is going the tariff route to face that, maybe the EU will be smarter to pursue co-operation with China? Once upon a time, China used to encourage Western industry that sold to China to be based there, maybe the EU should ask for the same in return?
Climate, AI, Trade, the Global South – In a historic reversal, in a growing number of areas, the EU now has more in common with China than it does with the US.
byu/lughnasadh inFuturology
8 Comments
Hopefully Europe will enjoy their new Chinese masters as much as Hong Kong does.
You can accuse the chinese of a lot of things, being stupid is not one…
I (european) hate the fact that we have to work closer with china, being a dictatorship and all, but at this point in time, it seems to be the safer, more stable choice compared to whatever the US and cheeto man are doing.
You forget the US is still the watchdog when it comes to countries upholding the law of the sea and fair trade. We don’t see any blockades or skirmishes endangering the global trade mainly because of the US involvement. US might go for tariffs and has a weird stance to AI thanks to Donald, but honestly will this continue next election? I think people give Trumps policies a way more staying power, sure he shifted the status quo a lot, but is it enough to make sweeping changes like you propose?
The idea you propose with EU China cooperation, it might not be a bad one if China also plays ball. Their economy is still largely built on “copy it exactly and profit” which doesn’t really instill cofidence in potential partners in Europe. I have couple horror stories from my country where someone wanted to expand and build a factory in China only for his CCP mandated Chinese “partner” to cut ties and steal his business idea and he could do nothing due to the laws and corruption in China.
They now have a reputable companies and economy in big cities is on par with EU so a tigher cooperation would be fine with me, they are not the big bad many Western politicians would love you to believe.
Well, everything leads to a world again becoming split in 2 powerful blocks with orbiting smaller powers, including the EU.
Problem of the EU is it has the same demographic problem of Eastern Asia but doesn’t have its technological/industrial trajectory.
It has little strategic importance and ressources. It think it greatly risks becoming a tourism Disneyland and luxury goods shop.
Pretty much none of that is true. There is no reversal of any kind, let alone ‘historic’.
The EU barely exists on the AI map. Their excessive hyper-regulation suffocated the emerging AI industry. The only EU company able to compete until recently was Mistral (because they made regulatory exceptions for them) but now it’s practically off the race due to the overall innovation-hostile environment in the EU.
Without actual AI, EU’s vision of AI may be any, but the only possible path is to use American AI. And maybe scrap regulation, get out of the way, and give their businesses a fair chance to achieve something.
Friendly reminder that China is currently giving logistical, financial, and military assistance to Russia, which is waging a hybrid war upon Europe, even as they are preparing to take over Taiwan by force.
Whatever else we may have in common, China is a two-faced “friend”.
Is this just a Chinese glazing post? I see nothing to do with technology.
We’re whitewashing China now? Cool. America has abandoned civil liberties so let’s go champion the country that never had them in the first place.