The US Commerce Department just flipped the kill switch. By ordering Anthropic to restrict access to its latest flagship models — Mythos 5 and Fable 5 — to non-US citizens, it sent a shockwave through European politics. Anthropic complied by immediately pulling the models offline for all global customers. European officials describe it as the first activation of a hypothetical "kill switch," revealing just how dependent the continent is on American AI.
Now, politicians across Europe are calling for digital sovereignty. French far-right leader Jordan Bardella warned that countries without their own models will become increasingly subordinate to foreign powers. Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe proposed a "Buy European Tech Act," using government procurement and cheap low-carbon electricity to boost local tech. Members of the European Parliament from Finland, Bulgaria, and Germany are urging joint compute resources with Canada, Australia, and Singapore, and faster construction of EU-wide AI supercomputer factories.
Europe's most prominent AI contender, Mistral, is reportedly raising €3 billion at a €20 billion valuation. These debates are expected to dominate the upcoming G7 summit in France, European Parliament discussions on tech sovereignty, and the EU leaders' summit in Brussels.