German Tech CEOs Urge EU to Loosen AI Regulations

Two prominent German tech leaders, Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens, and Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, have publicly urged the European Union to reassess its approach to regulating artificial intelligence. They argue that the current regulatory framework is too restrictive and could hinder innovation on the continent.

In an interview, Busch and Klein emphasized the need for a more agile and intelligent administrative governance model that fosters innovation rather than stifling it. While they acknowledge the importance of safety and transparency in AI, they contend that the current laws make it challenging for European companies to compete globally.

Europe faces intense global competition, particularly from the US and China. The CEOs warn that without regulatory changes, the EU will fall further behind in the race to develop advanced AI and digital technologies. They believe that excessive regulation is a significant barrier preventing European companies from catching up to their international counterparts.

The EU’s AI Act, adopted in 2023, is a central concern for these tech leaders. The Act categorizes AI systems into four risk levels: unacceptable, high, substantial, and low. Companies must adhere to specific rules regarding data usage, transparency, and safety based on these categories. Busch also criticized the overlapping regulations, including the EU’s Data Act, which he described as creating confusion and an unnecessary burden for businesses.

Busch and Klein argue that current laws are more likely to stifle growth than support it. They believe that Europe is imposing heavy regulations too early in the innovation process. Unlike some tech giants that have endorsed open letters to the EU encouraging a delay of the AI Act, Busch did not support these efforts, stating that they did not go far enough in proposing substantive reforms.

Christian Klein, co-CEO of SAP, highlighted that Europe’s challenge is not with infrastructure or computing power but with accessing and utilizing the data already created. He and Busch both emphasized the need for better data governance to unlock the continent’s data potential. They believe that Europe should focus on opening up data while protecting users’ privacy to truly compete with other regions investing aggressively in AI.

If the EU revises its approach, it could still make the global tech race its own by emphasizing innovation and reducing pre-emptive counteractions. In the lead-up to the EU AI Act, Siemens and SAP had expressed concerns about its potential impact on European competitiveness, warning that the proposed Data Act could exacerbate Europe’s vulnerabilities by enforcing the sharing of key business data.