Pierre-Alexandre Balland Tells Sanjay Puri on RegulatingAI Podcast, Europe Needs AI Sovereignty and Faster Innovation

CEPS AI expert Pierre-Alexandre Balland told Sanjay Puri on the RegulatingAI Podcast that AI sovereignty and open-source models are critical.

SAN JOSE, CA, UNITED STATES, May 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Speaking with host Sanjay Puri on the RegulatingAI Podcast at the TechEx conference in San Jose, Pierre-Alexandre Balland, Chief Data Scientist at CEPS, Visiting Professor at Harvard University’s Growth Lab, warned that countries cannot depend entirely on foreign AI systems to run critical services. During the discussion, Balland said governments must build stronger AI ecosystems, invest in open-source models, and prepare for the economic impact of physical AI and automation. Balland, who leads the data science and AI team at the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels and also serves as a visiting professor at Harvard Kennedy School, discussed Europe’s struggle to compete with the United States and China in artificial intelligence. On the RegulatingAI Podcast with Sanjay Puri, he argued that Europe’s biggest challenge is not regulation but funding. According to Balland, Europe lacks the pension fund structure needed to direct massive capital into AI startups and hyperscalers.

He explained that investment in AI startups in the United States far exceeds investment levels in Europe. He also said Europe’s fragmented market prevents countries from building unified technology champions that can compete globally. Balland noted that nations like France and Germany often try to compete individually instead of acting together as a larger European bloc. While discussing the European Union’s AI Act on the RegulatingAI Podcast, Balland praised its goals but criticized the slow pace of implementation. He said the law started with good intentions, especially around limiting harmful surveillance and protecting people from unsafe AI uses. However, he warned that AI technology changes too quickly for governments to spend years creating regulations.

“The AI Act took too long,” Balland told Sanjay Puri during the interview. He added that enforcement also remains difficult because regulators still struggle to define exactly where many AI rules apply. A major part of the conversation focused on AI sovereignty and the growing influence of large technology companies. Balland warned that countries should not rely completely on foreign AI platforms to operate hospitals, schools, or businesses. He said geopolitical conflicts could create situations where access to important AI tools suddenly disappears.

“Imagine if we completely rely on ChatGPT in Europe or any other country in the world to run our hospitals, our schools, and our businesses, and suddenly there is geopolitical conflict and we turn off the tap,” he said on the RegulatingAI Podcast. “Then we just cannot use AI anymore.” Balland argued that governments and regional alliances must build stronger local AI infrastructure and support open-source AI models. He said open-source systems give countries and businesses more flexibility because they can run models locally instead of depending fully on outside providers.

The RegulatingAI Podcast interview also explored physical AI and robotics. Balland explained that many people focus on safety accidents involving robots, but he believes the larger risk involves jobs and labor markets. He warned that physical AI systems could disrupt millions of physical labor roles, especially in advanced economies where automation can quickly replace repetitive work. He noted that developing nations may adopt physical AI more slowly because robotics systems remain expensive and require strong infrastructure and supply chains. However, Balland said cognitive AI tools already spread rapidly across the Global South through smartphones and messaging apps like WhatsApp.

During the discussion with Sanjay Puri, Balland also pushed back against fears that AI companies could overpower governments. While he acknowledged the enormous financial power of major technology firms, he said governments in the United States, Europe, and China still maintain strong influence over the AI industry through regulations, trade controls, and national policy decisions. By the end of the RegulatingAI Podcast conversation, Balland made clear that the future of AI will depend on more than technology alone. He said political courage, investment reform, international cooperation, and open-source innovation will shape whether countries can build independent and trustworthy AI ecosystems in the years ahead.

Upasana Das
Knowledge Networks
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