*Originally published in JOTA.

**This is an AI-powered machine translation of the original text in Portuguese.

When revoking the Biden administration’s guidelines on Artificial Intelligence, Trump declared that the previous policy was a “barrier to AI innovation” and that AI systems should be “free from ideological biases or social agendas.” This was also a reference to the regulation of content moderation by digital platforms, a stance recently echoed by Big Tech companies.

A similar movement is observed in the British experience, where the new Labour government is taking a lenient approach to AI regulation. It has even replaced the head of the Competition Markets Authority—the regulatory body that, until now, besides publishing documents warning of a potential domination of the AI markets, had proposed restrictive competition rules for the operations of Big Tech companies. According to the British Prime Minister, the previous government was “hiding behind regulators,” a sign of weakness and a lack of commitment to technological growth and development.

Trump’s reversal in relation to Biden, who was increasingly aligning with the European approach, marks a turning point in the geopolitical mosaic surrounding digital technologies. It is noteworthy that the previous administration promoted and signed a document within the framework of the G7 (from which China is excluded) concerning principles and an AI Code of Conduct. This document not only establishes governance models for risk mitigation but also commitments to responsible AI research and development.

The reference and driving force in the positioning of the world’s major economic powers is China, which, as part of its national AI strategy, openly views technology as a vehicle for global economic domination. China has recently made a significant move with the launch of an open-source language model by Deep Seek—a Chinese startup—that offers high efficiency and optimized costs, and is now among the most downloaded applications in the United States.

Instead of a space race, which symbolized the post-war geopolitical division, we now face a race to dominate large foundational AI models. These models are seen as the key to mastering technology and, consequently, the economy on a global scale.

Previously, Europe, lagging behind both the United States and the rising Chinese powerhouse, had developed a strategy centered on leading in digital technology quality standards. These standards were meant to be compatible with the exercise of human rights—particularly privacy and the protection of personal data—as well as environmental protection through energy efficiency and a preference for renewable resources.

In 2018, Emmanuel Macron stated that the American model of technological and AI development would not be sustainable because it was unregulated and lacked political accountability to citizens. Since then, Europe has issued around 80 legislative documents to regulate the digital environment. Among the most significant, following the legislation on data protection, are regulations on competition between platforms, content moderation, data sharing, and artificial intelligence.

This strategy succeeded in promoting European “normative sovereignty” by influencing legislation around the world, including in Brazil—the so-called “Brussels effect.” However, it has yet to translate into economic sovereignty. None of the top 10 digital market companies is European, and none of the 12 most valuable unicorns comes from Europe.

In the race to conquer the major foundational AI models, the leading French and German developers, who emphasize data security and user data sovereignty in their models, have managed to raise private funds amounting to only tens or at most a few hundred million dollars—a far cry from the US$11 billion raised for the development of ChatGPT by OpenAI.

Hugging Face, a startup founded by three French entrepreneurs that is now the largest platform hosting AI systems and connecting developers, has already relocated to the United States and partnered with Amazon Web Services.

The American rapprochement was a trump card for Europeans positioning themselves and opening space for the development of their companies by establishing the standard of technological “responsibility.” This gradually reduced the protectionist measures against Americans while raising quality barriers alongside American protectionist measures against the Chinese. In the new scenario, Europeans are weakening.

It is clear that efficiency and responsibility are opposing goals that must find a balance to provide sustainable technology compatible with human values. The question is how Brazil should position itself in this new context, where global leaders favor efficiency and engage in a race without shackles. The latest Chinese move shows that we can—and need to—find a path that is not simply about “imitating Europe” or “imitating the USA.”