How the EU Is Preparing for AI-Driven War

Can Europe defend itself in a time of war?

I have to get something off my chest which will hopefully clear up a common misconception about how regulation affects tech innovation in the EU. Let me just say, I don’t think those voices who claim that regulation is an insurmountable barrier to start a successful tech company in Europe are authentic. The narrative is driven by lies and propaganda, most likely stemming from Russian troll farms.

However, to those people who genuinely claim that EU laws are so annoying that’s it’s impossible or nearly impossible to start a successful AI or tech business here, my advice is straightforward: quit your whining and leave. I bet you won’t make it anywhere. The defining trait of successful entrepreneurs is their ability to overcome obstacles. If the legal barriers are such a burden in Europe, you probably don’t have what it takes to be successful no matter where you are located. We need serious and dedicated talent in Europe to ensure our survival, including of the ideas the EU stands for, and our future competitiveness. If you spend a lot of time complaining that bureaucrats in Bruxelles are holding you back and ruining your one shot at success, you probably don’t have what it takes. I say that as someone who helps companies comply with EU laws for a living.

Now, let’s move on to discuss AI. AI will likely be more successful as a military technology, than as a consumer product. The way that AI is reshaping the military is simply more consequential than its ability to generate ‘workslop’, propaganda for social media and to support or replace white-collar professionals. Yes, the military application of AI is to surveil and kill people. Not something I condone, but that is the reality we live in. It’s an utmost priority for Europe to prepare for modern AI-driven warfare as we are facing threats from within, the East, and the West (and many other angles we won’t go further into here).

The threat from within is primarily those with a defeatist attitude who refuse to stand up for European values, and are parroting the anti-democratic rhetoric from their feeds on X and TikTok. Russia is threatening Europe’s territory from the East. The US is increasingly threatening Europe’s territory from the West. A few years ago, a war between the US and the EU was unthinkable. Now, it’s a real, albeit remote, possibility that the EU needs to seriously prepare for. A war with the US may not necessarily be fought out with bombs and boots on the ground, although there is a non-zero chance it could be. More likely, it will be a continuation of the information warfare and economic warfare which is already ongoing. This means that EU countries must become independent of US tech for national security purposes, while rapidly building up sovereign capacities in military AI.

In the paid section of today’s post, we shall see how the EU is preparing for AI-driven war.