Germany Rejects AI Development Pause, Calling for Global Governance Involving US and China
Germany's Ministry for Digital Affairs rejected calls to pause AI development, stating that halting research is infeasible for maintaining Europe's digital sovereignty. The ministry responded to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal to slow model iteration while emphasizing that effective global AI governance requires active participation from both the US and China. This stance highlights the tension between precautionary AI safety measures and competitive technological sovereignty in Europe. It underscores that European policymakers prioritize building local technological capabilities over voluntary development pauses proposed by top US AI executives. While rejecting a development halt, German officials noted that autonomous AI systems capable of connecting to external networks outside testing environments create novel threat scenarios requiring updated policies. Germany is currently advancing these AI governance discussions within the Group of Seven (G7) framework.
## BACKGROUND
Digital sovereignty refers to a country's or region's ability to maintain control over its digital infrastructure, data, and technological capabilities without excessive reliance on foreign entities. Meanwhile, leading AI developers like Anthropic have called for slowing capability iterations and embedding independent safety evaluators inside firms to mitigate risks as AI systems grow more capable.