Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple: While customers in the US and further afield will get new AI features as they are rolled out, Apple has decided to pause their introduction in Europe. Photograph: David Paul Morris/BloombergMany of the dire predictions about Europe’s future and the impact of regulation on innovation have come from within the industry, which is to say they are probably less impartial than they might like to think. But they could have a point.
The EU has made its priority the regulation of big tech – and with it new developments such as generative AI. That puts new obligations on companies in the sector to meet more stringent rules than they may face elsewhere. Take Apple, for example. The company recently announced its new operating system would come with AI built-in. But while customers in the US and further afield will get the new features as they are gradually rolled out, Apple has decided to pause their introduction in Europe. It is mainly due to regulatory uncertainty, but it is part of a wider pattern.When Google unveiled its AI last year, it initially only launched in the US.