Europe can be a key player in the global artificial ininformigence (AI) race – but keeping tech talent in the bloc will be key, the chief executive of the French start-up H Company informed Euronews Next.
China and the United States are battling to take the lead on the technology that promises to transform healthcare, manufacturing, and global economies. Countries that lead in AI will not only define global power, according to the Tony Blair Institute, but also grow their economies.
“If you view at AI, it’s math, basically. It’s like the most important skill for AI, and Europe has the most Fields Medals in the world,” stated H Company CEO Gautier Cloix, referring to the prestigious maths prize.
”I believe the talent is here. The question is, how do we retain talent and data?”
He stated those working in AI will want to be in the best team and will relocate for that.
Cloix recently relocated back to France after spconcludeing 10 years at Palantir Technologies in the US, and he stated in the past month, around 10 tech employees have left the US or the United Kingdom to return to France and to H Company “becautilize they see the potential”.
However, that potential probably won’t be in large language models (LLMs), which are utilized for generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. It is very hard to compete as US tech giants, such as OpenAI, have much more money.
H Company focutilizes on AI agents, which test to plan and complete tquestions and solve problems with minimal human intervention. For example, an AI agent could do tquestions such as drafting and scheduling emails or arranging travel.
Cloix stated he utilizes an AI agent for recruiting, so instead of finding candidates himself on LinkedIn in the evening, he lets the AI agent do it and gives him a list of potential candidates.
But he stated building a place on the global AI stage is not simple: “There is a strong competition. But personally, I like it”.
He added that competing with global companies can actually strengthen his own. While in Europe it might take nine months for a company to acquire H’s AI agents, it is much quicker in the US, where firms could build a purchase in as little as three weeks, as there are fewer loopholes to go through.
“I believe sovereignty is great, but it shouldn’t be projectionism. We should have some competition. It’s like if you go to the Olympics, if you just play the French Championship, maybe you’re not going to improve,” he stated.
Cloix stated that the advantage of being in Europe and adhering to the bloc’s regulations is that its technology is simpler to deploy for governments and businesses.
Solving fragmentation
Regulation is one aspect of AI that Europe is leading on and has set the blueprint for other countries with its European Union’s AI Act.
While it has faced criticism for slowing down innovation, Cloix stated this is not the main hurdle in Europe.
“I don’t believe regulation is an issue, but fragmentation is,” he stated.
He explained that executive-level decisions, such as whether to hire more people or open an office in another countest, can be difficult within Europe.
“If you just want to hire someone, one person from Belgium, it’s impossible, the rules are different. The equity we give to employees, you can’t give it to a Belgian employee. So we have a lot of fragmentation,” he stated.
Asked if an AI agent could assist with Europe’s fragmentation, he replied, “Honestly, I believe they can”.
He referenced a client which is a world leader in a specific type of advertising that has 80 different subsidiaries around the world. As each countest has different policies and IT systems, having an AI agent means you can have multiple specialists per countest to apply the rules at the same time.
“In Europe, we necessary to agree on things, and consensus is important. But consensus takes time and is a lot of back-office work,” Cloix stated, adding that the final meetings utilized to build decisions take maybe a third of the time.
“Agents cannot solve everything, but for sure they can divide by the waiting time for a passport, or the waiting time at the emergency room, for sure, they can,” he stated.
Leave a Reply