Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, and Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that a new regulatory framework was needed to support technological progress rather than hinder it.
The European AI Act, which came into force last year, governs the development and use of AI systems to ensure their safety, transparency, and respect for fundamental rights.
The law classifies AI applications into risk categories, under which providers must meet certain safety and transparency requirements.
However, Mr. Busch of Siemens stated that the law was one of the main reasons Europe was falling behind, adding that overlapping and sometimes contradictory regulations were impeding progress.
He said the European Data Act, another law that sets obligations on how companies use consumer and business data, was “toxic” for the development of digital business models.
While several companies, including Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Meta (Facebook’s parent company), wrote to Brussels requesting a postponement of the rules, Mr. Busch declined to sign their letter, arguing that the proposal did not go far enough.
Mr. Klein of SAP warned against simply copying the United States and investing heavily in infrastructure and data centers, emphasizing that lack of infrastructure is not the main obstacle in Europe.
