European AI Firms Accuse US Rivals of Using Safety Calls to Stifle Competition

Leading European artificial intelligence firms are pushing back against calls from their U.S. counterparts to slow the pace of AI development, framing the safety-focused proposals as a self-serving attempt to stifle competition and cement American dominance in the burgeoning sector.

The pushback follows an essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urging advanced developers to voluntarily slow the improvement of AI model capabilities, citing rapidly escalating risks that outpace government regulation.

US Proposal for a Slowdown

The debate was ignited by Amodei's proposal for leading AI labs to coordinate on safety standards and submit to oversight from embedded, independent evaluators. He also called for an antitrust waiver to allow for this collaboration, a suggestion that drew sharp criticism from European competitors. The call for caution echoes similar warnings about the potential dangers of AI from other U.S. tech leaders, including OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk.

Amodei argued that because passing laws is a slow process, AI companies must voluntarily work together to set safety standards in parallel with regulatory efforts. He warned that the technology is advancing too quickly for governments to keep up.

European Backlash Cites Anti-Competitive Motives

European companies, which are largely trying to catch up in the race to build foundational AI, met the proposal with deep skepticism. Mistral, a French startup seen as Europe's best hope for challenging U.S. dominance, stated that "some incumbents are using this moment to consolidate their market position, pushing for regulation designed to favour them over competitors."

Ad

Other European tech executives voiced similar concerns:

• Raphael Auphan, COO of Swiss software company Proton, called the move "totally self-serving," adding, "They just want to preserve a dimension of dependency on their service."
• Ben Brooks, head of public policy at German AI startup Black Forest Labs, said a slowdown would "chill open innovation at or near the frontier."
• Kristian Kersting, a German AI professor, labeled the proposal an attempt at "regulatory capture," arguing it is not genuine regulation if a handful of large companies define the risks and select their own inspectors.

The Race for Digital Sovereignty

The reaction highlights Europe's precarious position in the global AI landscape, where it remains heavily dependent on models developed by U.S. companies. European officials expressed concern that the U.S. calls for a pause are aimed at locking in this advantage.

"Making everyone behind them slow down so they can stay in first place – I can clearly see their self-interest," French finance minister Roland Lescure told Reuters. A spokesperson for Germany's digital affairs ministry said that halting AI development was unrealistic given Europe's strategic need to achieve digital sovereignty and close the existing technological gap with the U.S. and China.