Alarmists warn: Europe risks falling permanently behind in the AI race

A group of prominent researchers and activists in AI safety released a report with a stark warning: if Europe does not take immediate and large-scale action, it risks irreversibly falling behind the United States and China in the global artificial intelligence technology race.

Scenario of "Sliding into Irrelevance"

The report's authors — primarily representatives of the AI safety movement and so-called 'doomers' (researchers warning of catastrophic risks from uncontrolled AI) — paint a detailed scenario of degradation. The gap between European laboratories and American leaders — OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, Meta AI — is already critically large, and without emergency measures, it will continue to grow exponentially. By their assessment, the problem is not just about money. European companies are losing in hiring speed, access to computational power, energy infrastructure, and regulatory flexibility. The AI Act — the EU's flagship artificial intelligence law — despite good intentions, creates additional barriers for developers precisely when American and Chinese competitors are accelerating.

What the Authors Demand

The authors insist on launching the 'most ambitious program' in the history of European technology policy. The list of demands covers several areas:

• Large-scale government investments in computational infrastructure and construction of new data centers
• Accelerated approval for building power plants and energy networks to power AI clusters
• Attracting and retaining top developers through tax incentives and visa regime simplification
• Review of certain provisions of the AI Act — regarding model transparency requirements and certification procedures
• Creation of a unified European 'frontier' AI project modeled after CERN or the Airbus consortium

Key thesis: piecemeal measures will not help. Systemic restructuring is needed — from regulation to funding of fundamental research.

Where This Call Comes From — and Why It Matters

The paradox of the report is that it comes from 'doomers' — people who in recent years have demanded slowing down AI development, introducing a moratorium on powerful model training, and tightening oversight. Now those same voices say: it is better for cutting-edge AI to be created in Europe under European oversight and with European values than without oversight — in the United States or China.

The report came out against the backdrop of several alarming signals for the European industry. French Mistral — Europe's largest AI startup — is increasingly seeking capital and partners in North America. German Aleph Alpha has sharply scaled back its ambitions. No European company ranks in the top five in the world for key benchmarks in language and multimodal models.

"This is not alarmism for alarmism's sake — this is a realistic

forecast of what will happen if nothing changes in the next 18 months," the report states.

Political context also matters: discussions are already underway in the European Parliament about a possible 'technical revision' of the AI Act. The report could serve as an argument for those who believe the current law is too strict for developers.

What This Means

Europe has found itself in a trap: the most consistent critics of AI acceleration are now demanding it — so the region does not lose its leverage over the future of the technology. If the report gains political resonance, it could accelerate a review of the AI Act as early as 2026 and trigger a process that will reshape Europe's technological landscape for years to come.

*Meta has been recognized as an extremist organization and is banned in Russia.