Europe Sidelined in Global AI Safety Debate: Lagarde Warns Against Dependence on US and China
While an intense international debate rages over the safety risks of advanced AI, Europe remains largely on the sidelines. ECB President Christine Lagarde warns the continent must choose between investing in AI itself or becoming dependent on American and Chinese technology.
Europe misses connection to global AI safety debate
An international debate over the safety risks of advanced artificial intelligence has intensified rapidly in recent days, but Europe hardly plays a role in it. That is according to journalists Dan Milmo and Aisha Down, writing in The Guardian on 18 September 2026. According to the article, while Europe does have rules that touch on how consumers encounter AI, it lacks a strong position in the broader discussion about large-scale AI risks.
That discussion concerns so-called worst-case scenarios: situations in which advanced AI systems could develop in unforeseen or harmful ways. According to the article, there is no consensus among experts on how likely or severe such scenarios actually are. The article does not specify what exactly triggered the recent intensification of the debate.
Lagarde: a choice between growth and dependence
Europe's dilemmas came into sharp focus this week through statements by Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. According to Lagarde, Europe faces a twofold choice: avoid the technology and miss out on economic growth, or embrace AI and thereby become dependent on tools developed in the United States and China.
Lagarde argues that Europe must develop its own AI technology and build more data centers, in order to prevent the continent from being cut off from AI access by American or Chinese parties. The article does not mention concrete figures regarding desired investments, numbers of data centers, or growth targets.
Risks do not stop at the border
The core message of the Guardian piece is that Europe's reluctance to develop advanced AI itself does not shield the continent from the consequences if the most extreme scenarios materialize elsewhere. According to the authors, AI risks are not bound by national borders: even without large-scale AI development of its own, Europe could still feel the effects of developments in the US or China.
As a result, the article suggests, the choice Lagarde outlines — participate or abstain — risks becoming partly a false choice. Even with restraint, Europe remains vulnerable to the consequences of decisions made elsewhere.
Broader context and remaining questions
The article is part of a broader Guardian series on AI safety and the accountability of AI companies, including a related piece questioning why companies are not held more strongly accountable. Which specific European legislation is relevant to this debate, which experts exactly have been consulted, and how the European Commission is responding to Lagarde's statements are not made concrete in the available article. These aspects require further reporting as more details become known.
For now, the message from Frankfurt remains clear: according to Lagarde, Europe must quickly make a strategic choice about its position in global AI development, while the debate over the safety of that technology is in full swing elsewhere.