GPU Dreams, Human Realities: Rethinking Europe’s AI Infrastructure Push

Julia Christina Hess , Catherine Schneider

19.05.2026 15:00–15:30
Lightning Box 3
Englisch
(Kurz-) Vortrag
Politik & Gesellschaft
#Digitalpolitik #KI #Common good #Technologie
Europe is pouring €30+ billion into AI compute to pull ahead in the global AI race and strengthen technological sovereignty. But infrastructure alone won’t guarantee innovation and could create dependencies, risking strain on European resources rather than strengthening its European AI ecosystem.

In its ambition to become an “AI continent,” Europe is investing heavily in compute infrastructure, with high hopes for direct and indirect benefits: retaining talent, fostering startups, driving business innovation, and producing European AI champions. However, while infrastructure is critical, its impact depends on alignment with talent, viable business models, and market dynamics. Without this alignment, it mainly places additional pressure on financial and environmental resources. 

interface's Catherine Schneider and Julia Christina Hess will provide short inputs (10 minutes) examining whether Europe is building infrastructure suited to its actual needs and why infrastructure-first strategies risk overlooking the human dimension that determines whether an AI ecosystem can thrive. 

The session concludes with an interactive discussion inviting participants to reflect on what Europe ultimately aims to achieve in AI – and what is truly needed to get there. 

Dieser Programmpunkt wird durch die Stiftung Mercator unterstützt. / This programme session is supported by Stiftung Mercator.

Speaker