OpenAI's Altman Proposes 'Stargate Europe', Warns of AI Regulation Impact

OpenAI's Altman envisions Stargate-like programme for Europe

BERLIN (Reuters) - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday signaled willingness to bring a Stargate-like artificial intelligence program to Europe, saying his company would "love" to do a Stargate Europe. Stargate is a U.S. venture launched by U.S. President Donald Trump that involves backers like OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle. Up to $500 billion will be invested in AI infrastructure over the next five years. "We need help," Altman told students at a panel discussion at the Technical University of Berlin, stressing that it would be up to Europeans to decide how they want to set their rules for AI technology. "We'll obviously comply with whatever they are," said Altman. According to Altman, it would be in Europe's best interest to adopt AI and not lag behind the rest of the world. OpenAI will open a new office in Munich, Germany, as part of its European expansion plans, the company announced in a press release. "Opening our first office in Germany means we can help even more people, businesses, institutions benefit from AI's possibilities," said Altman. OpenAI has expanded to the European continent in recent years, announcing offices in Dublin and London in 2023 and two additional ones in Paris and Brussels in 2024. On Monday, Altman is expected to attend an AI summit in Paris, which will also be attended by several European heads of state and other government officials. (Reporting by Leon Kuegeler, Editing by Louise Heavens)

OpenAI's Altman envisions Stargate-like programme for Europe

BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday signaled willingness to bring a Stargate-like artificial intelligence program to Europe, saying his company would "love" to do a Stargate Europe. Stargate is a U.S. venture launched by U.S. President Donald Trump that involves backers like OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle . Up to $500 billion will be invested in AI infrastructure over the next five years. "We need help," Altman told students at a panel discussion at the Technical University of Berlin, stressing that it would be up to Europeans to decide how they want to set their rules for AI technology. "We'll obviously comply with whatever they are," said Altman. According to Altman, it would be in Europe's best interest to adopt AI and not lag behind the rest of the world. OpenAI will open a new office in Munich, Germany, as part of its European expansion plans, the company announced in a press release. "Opening our first office in Germany means we can help even more people, businesses, institutions benefit from AI's possibilities," said Altman. OpenAI has expanded to the European continent in recent years, announcing offices in Dublin and London in 2023 and two additional ones in Paris and Brussels in 2024. On Monday, Altman is expected to attend an AI summit in Paris, which will also be attended by several European heads of state and other government officials. Reporting by Leon Kuegeler, Editing by Louise Heavens Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

Altman Says He'd 'Love' Europe Stargate, Warns of AI Rule Impact

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said he'd "love" to help build a European Stargate, though the continent's regulations will determine how quickly the technology advances. "We want to be able to deploy our products in Europe as quickly as we do in the rest of the world," Altman said on Friday at an event at the Technical University Berlin, discussing on stage how AI will impact science, business, and society. "I think the European people will have to decide how they want to set the rules for this kind of technology."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: EU Regulations Could Limit Access to AI | PYMNTS.com

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly said that European Union (EU) regulations could limit the region's access to artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking Friday (Feb. 7) at an event at the Technical University Berlin, Altman said he'd love to build a European version of Stargate -- the recently announced AI infrastructure project in the United States -- but that those kinds of AI advancements depend on the EU's regulations, Bloomberg reported. "We want to be able to deploy our products in Europe as quickly as we do in the rest of the world," Altman said, per the report. "I think the European people will have to decide how they want to set the rules for this kind of technology." Altman recently said that India is OpenAI's most important international market, while Germany is the company's fifth largest market, according to the report. He said Friday that OpenAI will comply with the EU's new AI Act, which includes rules around the transparency and risks of AI models, per the report. OpenAI announced Wednesday (Feb. 5) that it introduced data residency in Europe for three of its products -- ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu and the API Platform -- to help organizations operating in Europe meet local data sovereignty requirements. "We look forward to partnering with more organizations across Europe and around the world on their AI initiatives, while maintaining the highest standards of security, privacy and compliance," the company said at the time in a press release. It was reported Tuesday (Feb. 4) that European regulators are preparing new guidance covering banned uses of AI as part of an effort to enforce the AI Act. AI Act provisions restricting moves like scraping the internet to create facial recognition databases went into effect Sunday (Feb. 2), and the European Commission is ready to issue key guidance on how these rules should be applied. In January, it was reported that President Donald Trump's announcement of Stargate spurred calls from European CEOs for a similar AI infrastructure initiative in the region. SAP CEO Christian Klein told CNBC that Europe's lawmakers and businesses should work to implement AI, as the technology will boost the competitiveness of all industries.

OpenAI's Altman warns EU regulation may hold Europe back

OpenAI chief Sam Altman on Friday suggested European regulation could hold back the development of artificial intelligence (AI), while promising the US company would abide by new EU legislation. At a panel discussion on AI at Berlin's Technical University, Altman was asked directly about the EU's "AI Act", considered the most comprehensive regulatory framework for the emerging technology in the world. "We will comply with the law and respect the wishes of the European people", Altman said. "There are benefits to different regulatory regimes," the Open AI chief said, but added that "there are going to be economic impacts that will become societal impacts". "We want to be able to deploy our products in Europe as quickly as we do in the rest of the world", Altman said. It was "in Europe's interest to be able to adopt AI and not be behind the rest of the world". The EU AI Act was passed in March 2024. This week regulators gave guidance as to what types of AI tools will be outlawed as too dangerous. They include tools that scrape online images to create facial recognition databases or allow police to evaluate criminal risk based solely on biometric data. The United States is taking steps to loosen AI regulation. President Donald Trump last month rescinded an order from his predecessor Joe Biden establishing oversight measures for companies developing AI models. On Thursday, OpenAI announced it would allow some European customers to store and process data from conversations with its chatbots within the European Union in order to help "organizations operating in Europe meet local data sovereignty requirements". Altman said he was bullish about the pace of development of AI, despite some experts saying the chances of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that surpasses all human capabilities are being exaggerated. "I think you should all be very skeptical when people start saying this is about to run out... or we're going to hit this limit," Altman told the event. "I think we'll get to something in the next couple of years that many people will look at and say, 'I really didn't think computer was going to do that.'" Next week, Altman will be one of the high-profile guests at an AI summit in Paris billed by France as a "wake-up call" for Europe. OpenAI raised public awareness of AI generative models in 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT. It is to open its first office in Germany in Munich later this year.