The DAX companies SAP and Siemens are calling for a comprehensive reform of European AI legislation to keep pace with current market developments and not hinder innovations. In a joint contribution to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, CEOs Christian Klein (SAP) and Roland Busch (Siemens) advocate for a new legal framework that supports technological progress rather than holding it back.
EU AI Act and Points of Criticism
Roland Busch particularly criticizes the current EU AI Act as a significant reason for Europe’s lag in AI innovations. He points out that some regulations contradict each other or overlap with existing regulations like the Data Act. The latter he describes as “toxic” for the development of digital business models. Busch also rejects a recently demanded moratorium by several industry representatives to suspend the regulations, as he believes it does not go far enough. Instead, he calls for a substantial revision of the legal framework.
A European Path in AI Development
Christian Klein warns against simply copying the American model, which heavily relies on investments in infrastructure and data centers. He emphasizes that Europe currently does not have bottlenecks in computing capacity and therefore data regulations must be reformed first to better utilize Europe’s “data treasure.” Only after that should consideration be given to larger investments in infrastructure.
In summary, SAP and Siemens call for:
- A fundamental revision of the EU AI legal framework to better promote innovations.
- The elimination of contradictions between different regulations such as the AI Act and Data Act.
- A prioritization of data regulation reform before expansion of data centers.
- No mere imitation of American strategies without considering European specifics.
These demands reflect the goal of making Europe more competitive in the field of artificial intelligence while dismantling regulatory hurdles.