EU officials call it the “Brussels effect”: the idea that the 27-nation bloc can become the de facto global rule setter in a given area by regulating before anyone else. EU regulation has made useful contributions in safeguarding data privacy and tech-sector competition. But with its 2024 AI Act it over-reached itself. The rules provoked fierce lobbying by Big Tech companies and the US government. More importantly, they jeopardise the competitiveness of EU companies and start-ups, and risk making Europe a permanent also-ran after the US and China in the race to develop and harness the transformative technology.
歐盟官員稱之為“布魯塞爾效應”：指由27個成員國組成的聯盟通過率先立法，在特定領域成為事實上的全球規則制定者。歐盟監管在保障數據隱私和科技行業競爭方面作出了有益貢獻。但在其2024年《人工智能法案》(AI Act)中則做得過頭了。這些規則引發了大型科技公司和美國政府的強烈游說。更重要的是，它們危及歐盟公司和初創企業的競爭力，并有可能讓歐洲在開發和利用這一變革性技術的競賽中，長期落后于美國和中國。