{"text":[[{"start":7.62,"text":"A top Google executive has dismissed European concerns that US companies are set to dominate AI, arguing fierce competition between Big Tech and a cadre of fast-growing start-ups is driving down prices and creating new opportunities for the region’s businesses."}],[{"start":22.4,"text":"“Look at the space right now, it’s remarkable . . . You couldn’t imagine a more competitive environment,” Kent Walker, Google parent Alphabet’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, told the FT."}],[{"start":34.2,"text":"Walker pointed to Big Tech groups such as Nvidia, Meta and SpaceX, as well as US AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic, France’s Mistral, “plus another half dozen or a dozen Chinese companies”, he said. “And what’s the effect of that? Prices are dropping at an astonishing rate. Capabilities are increasing at an astonishing rate.”"}],[{"start":53.48,"text":"European competition commissioner Teresa Ribera is stepping up scrutiny of the rapidly developing AI industry. Brussels officials are concerned that the dominance of established US technology companies could allow them to gain an unfair advantage in a market that is predicted to underpin the bloc’s economy."}],[{"start":70.16,"text":"Alphabet, the third most valuable company in the world, has faced intense scrutiny in recent years as regulators have investigated its dominance of online search, vast advertising business and its ubiquitous Android operating system."}],[{"start":83.46,"text":"Despite losing a trio of US antitrust lawsuits, the company was not forced to sell any parts of its empire. Instead, it was required to share more data with rivals and open up certain services to third parties."}],[{"start":95.52,"text":"Last month, Google’s DeepMind research lab unveiled an upgraded version of its Gemini model that has caught up with market leaders Anthropic and OpenAI. Plans to integrate its AI technology into everything from Gmail, Maps, Android and YouTube has reignited concerns that the Big Tech giant can use its scale, distribution and financial firepower to squeeze out emerging AI rivals."}],[{"start":117.6,"text":"In Brussels, the company is facing scrutiny under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, including over whether it is providing rival online search engines and certain AI chatbots with sufficient access to anonymised search engine data, which is key to developing competing AI-powered services."}],[{"start":132.8,"text":"Ultimately, the application of AI will be key for the European economy, Walker said, referencing recent comments of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on AI."}],[{"start":143.96,"text":"“I think she correctly says you don’t necessarily need to have all the frontier models, what really matters is the broad-based adoption,” Walker said. “If somebody else invents the microscope, you don’t need to invent your own microscope. You can use the other guy’s microscope and then build applications on top of that.”"}],[{"start":161.36,"text":"In the end, “what matters is are you putting AI to work on the factory floor, in the hospital ward, in your energy grid, in the farmers’ fields”, he said. “That’s what leads to competitiveness, that’s what drives productivity at the end of the day.”"}],[{"start":175.32,"text":"Arthur Mensch, chief executive of the French AI model maker Mistral, said in a social media post that it would be a “fundamental mistake” for Europe to leave frontier AI to the Americans and the Chinese."}],[{"start":187,"text":"“It will end up costing Europe what remains of its place in the world and lock it into a regime of economic dependence unprecedented in the history of civilisations,” he said."}],[{"start":196.84,"text":"Meanwhile, European policymakers are trying to foster homegrown AI companies to increase the bloc’s competitiveness and reduce its reliance on American technology. Brussels has introduced sovereignty requirements for certain uses of cloud services."}],[{"start":211.16,"text":"Walker acknowledged the European concerns but said they could be addressed through partnerships. “We’re very much in favour of ‘made with Europe’ rather than made just in Europe,” he said."}],[{"start":221,"text":"AI safety fears have also spread after a series of high-profile incidents where autonomous AI agents broke out of testing environments and attempted to hack into companies and government agencies."}],[{"start":232.04,"text":"Walker argued Brussels and Washington were increasingly converging on the need for a more flexible approach to oversee the technology, as rapidly improving models create new challenges."}],[{"start":242.6,"text":"The EU is moving forward with the enforcement of its AI Act, which came into force in 2024 and is considered the world’s toughest regulatory framework for AI. “Brussels is realising the need to have a nimble approach that’s regularly updated,” Walker said. “The issues in AI are new every six months.”"}],[{"start":260.64,"text":"Greater co-operation between leading AI companies is key to establishing common safety standards that governments could use to address the technology, Walker said. He referred to the recent meeting between Donald Trump and several leading AI executives in Washington, where the US president hailed a “morally binding” agreement for the industry to voluntarily manage the tech’s risks."}],[{"start":285.88,"text":"“We can’t just get locked in a frozen conflict around this. We have to find a practical way through that enables the potential of technology.”"}],[{"start":294.24,"text":"Additional reporting by Stephen Morris"}],[{"start":301.88,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792481052_1155.mp3"}