SPD digital policy experts Johannes Schätzl and Matthias Mieves propose that Europe needs to mobilize one trillion euros in private capital to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI). This proposal, detailed in a recent strategy paper, emphasizes that public funds alone cannot bear the weight of these necessary investments.
The politicians argue that for Europe to compete effectively against the AI dominance exhibited by the US and China, the response cannot be financed solely through state spending. Instead, they aim to direct private financing toward critical future investments.
The urgency stems from growing concerns about advanced AI models-such as those developed by US company Anthropic-which could potentially facilitate dangerous cyberattacks. For the SPD politicians, this represents not merely a technological challenge but an escalating geopolitical risk, transforming computational power into a national security issue. They stress that for Europe to safeguard against these risks, investment is paramount, but the state should not function as the primary funder; rather, it must guide private capital into strategic infrastructure.
The digital policy advocates argue that whoever possesses robust models and infrastructure will be best positioned to react quickly, close vulnerabilities, and protect critical systems. Therefore, they call for a greater focus on directing capital from institutions-such as pension funds and insurance companies-into European technology and future technologies. Specific investment areas include AI computing power, startups, scale-ups, and indigenous European tech providers.
To make these investments more predictable, the politicians suggest implementing government procurement guarantees for specified AI computing services. According to the SPD paper, such state-backed frameworks would create dependable demand, while simultaneously setting crucial conditions related to security, data protection, energy efficiency, pricing, location, and good working standards. This approach is framed as a superior alternative to unconditional state subsidies.
