Synopsis
Austria is pushing the European Union to consider hosting Anthropic AI system within its borders to counter efforts by the U.S. to block foreigners from using the company's most advanced models, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.Listen to this article in summarized format
In a letter to EU Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen released by the Austrian government, Austria's State Secretary for Digitalization Alexander Proell wrote it was important that Europe was not cut off from major innovations.
"Let us jointly explore the strategic establishment and participation of Anthropic within the European Union. With legal certainty, market access, capital and a set of values that suits this company," Proell said in the letter.
He did not say how the step could be taken and acknowledged there would be scepticism about whether it was possible.
"The real question is not whether it is easy," Proell wrote. "The question is whether we Europeans are prepared to be the architects of our technological future, or whether we wish to remain mere administrators of decisions made elsewhere."
Anthropic did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the Austrian proposal.
Earlier this month, the European Commission proposed laws to boost domestic cloud, AI and semiconductor industries and cut reliance on U.S. Big Tech, defying U.S. government criticism of the bloc's crackdown on its industry.
