Germany rejects halting AI development, backs international oversight

Berlin says Europe should keep developing AI while strengthening safeguards, digital sovereignty, and international coordination with the US and China.

Germany said stopping artificial intelligence development is not a viable option for Europe, while calling for stronger safeguards and international coordination.

The statement came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged frontier AI companies to face independent scrutiny and develop common safety standards as systems grow more powerful.

Germany’s digital affairs ministry said further AI development and innovation were needed to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty. It also said Berlin was closely monitoring global developments and taking warnings from leading developers seriously.

The ministry said AI systems that can break out of test environments and access other systems independently would create an entirely new threat scenario requiring a new policy response.

Germany is raising the issue at the G7 and said effective oversight would require participation from the United States and China.

Spain’s digital transformation minister Oscar Lopez said discussion was growing around an international agreement to manage AI risks, comparing some proposals with nuclear non-proliferation agreements. The European Commission said innovation and safety must advance together.

Britain said any future regulatory response should be driven by evidence rather than speculation, while warning that existing rules may not always be sufficient as AI capabilities develop.

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