BRUSSELS, June 15– A senior official of the European Union (EU) said on Monday that Europe is not a security risk to partners, calling for joint cooperation on artificial intelligence(AI).
“Europe represents an economic opportunity, not a security risk. We are and will remain a trusted partner. This is why we need to cooperate on emerging, powerful AI models.
This is a shared global challenge,” said Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy.
Her remarks came after San Francisco-based AI company Anthropic announced on June 12 that it had suspended access to two of its most powerful AI models following an order from the U.S. Department of Commerce on national security grounds, affecting users in Europe and elsewhere.
The European Commission said on Sunday that it was assessing the practical impact on European users, cautioning that measures to address risks from advanced AI should not be discriminatory against partners.
Virkkunen said the episode “underlines the need for Europe’s technological sovereignty,” urging swift adoption of measures to reduce EU dependence on foreign technology. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
