Luxembourgish PM Luc Frieden is on a working visit to the US West Coast (Seattle and San Francisco) to woo American tech giants, with artificial intelligence topping the list of priorities. However, officials have stated that no deals or concrete commitments are on the agenda.
The Prime Minister’s first stop is Seattle. Luc Frieden and his delegation are accompanied by executives from Post Luxembourg, LuxConnect and Proximus. The agenda included meetings with representatives from American tech giants Amazon, Google and Microsoft. These discussions form part of several strategies including Luxembourg’s data strategy, artificial intelligence strategy and quantum strategy.
According to Luc Frieden, it is clear that the US is ahead of Europe in these areas, hence there is a clear incentive to learn from their experiences. Europe’s goal must be to build its own sovereignty, even if total autonomy seems unrealistic. When asked about the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence, Luc Frieden instead chose to focus on the possible benefits:
“Perhaps it’s also my nature to see opportunities first. Of course, we need to examine the risks and, where necessary, regulate, but I think that if we regulate too much, we slow down technological progress. That’s why we need to identify where abuse can occur and then intervene at that level, ideally in cooperation with others, such as the Americans.”
The Prime Minister also reminded that China, a fierce competitor, is actively advancing in the field of artificial intelligence although he said he feels less inclined to visit Chinese tech firms.
With his sights on Amazon, Luc Frieden highlighted that the US giant is the Grand Duchy’s largest employer, with around 4000 employees. Amazon is working closely with Luxembourg’s employment agency ADEM, as well as attracting talent from around the world. Keeping this in mind, he said it is in Luxembourg’s interest for a Luxembourgish Prime Minister to visit Amazon’s Seattle headquarters after ten years.
During Monday morning’s press conference, held via video conference, Luc Frieden was asked about the planned layoffs at Amazon and whether this topic would be discussed in his upcoming meeting with the company’s CEO. He responded:
“Of course, I will also ask him what impact their announcement will have on Luxembourg. As far as I know, they have not yet specified what will happen in each country. But I assume that Amazon will remain a very important player in Luxembourg.”
On the other hand, Google’s data centre, which was supposed to be built in the municipality of Bissen, has still not materialised:
“This is a project that Minister Schneider launched more than ten years ago, or ten years ago, and Google has never really revealed its plans. However, the message from my government will be very clear: I hope they will do it, they are welcome in Luxembourg, and we will support them in this endeavour.”
The data centre in Bissen will not, however, be the focus of the talks with Google. The company is an important partner in the field of data, as demonstrated by the Clarence cloud project.
In general, this trip to the US aims to put Luxembourg on the global map of major technology companies – or rather, to ensure it remains there. However, no contracts will be signed.
On the first day of his visit, Luc Frieden visited Boeing’s Seattle site, where the new 777 cargo aircraft is currently being built. In addition to Cargolux and Luxair, Boeing also collaborates with satellite operator SES. The Luxembourgish delegation will now travel to San Francisco before returning to the Grand Duchy on Wednesday.
