Inside Europe's AI playbook: Guardrails first, flexibility later

A top European AI policy official pushed back on a common critique that the European Union's tech regulation stifles innovation at the HumanX conference in San Francisco. Magnus Brunner, who works on AI in his role as European commissioner for internal affairs and migration, said Europe's sweeping AI Act provides "guardrails" needed to build trust, even as the U.S. takes a more fragmented, state-by-state approach. Tech executives and government leaders on AI in the U.S. often call out Europe's tech laws—such as the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, and the Digital Markets Act—as burdensome and hurtful to American tech companies. AI and tech companies often have to change their product offerings and follow strict rules to be able to operate in the EU. Brunner said Europe can be inflexible and slow, but it offers regulatory certainty while companies navigate confusion and a patchwork of laws in the U.S.