Reference News Network August 20 report: The German magazine "Wirtschaftswoche" website published an article titled "The US's dependence on Europe is far greater than it wants us to believe" on August 17. The author is Herbert Diess, former CEO of Volkswagen Group. The following are excerpts:

The current outcome of the US-EU trade disputes is unsatisfactory. Europe's representatives are a group of naive and nostalgic transatlanticists who continue to adopt a conciliatory attitude and sing the old Western tunes in sentimental memories. As a result, they submit themselves to a country that obviously violates European values in most cases today.

The value of European data is tempting

Today's US policies are entirely guided by American industrial interests: oil, weapons, data, financial investments, and no responsibility for the world situation. The US is not ignorant of this, but deliberately pursues short-term self-interest, sacrificing the future and the interests of nearly 8 billion non-Americans. Perhaps this even only benefits a small minority in the US, but ultimately harms 99% of the Earth's population.

Americans are acting recklessly. To sell more oil and natural gas and increase other countries' reliance on the US empire, Americans are accelerating climate change, exacerbating global poverty, and dumping more plastic into the world's oceans. Moreover, this plunder of the Earth seems insufficient, as the US also wants to charge higher "security" and currency fees. The world should belong to the US, more precisely, to a small part of the US people.

But Europe does not have to helplessly watch this development: the US's dependence on Europe is far greater than it wants us to believe. We still think in terms of trade flows, focusing only on products such as cars, spirits, motorcycles, and steel. In fact, data is the value of this new world.

Its value is still difficult for many to understand, but its weight is reflected in the market capitalization of American tech giants, especially the "Big Seven". Their strength comes from millions of pieces of information provided by users. These pieces of information also drive their stock valuations during the artificial intelligence revolution.

But where do these raw materials for success come from? A large portion of global advertising spending comes from these companies because they have some monopoly positions. However, only 350 million customer records come from the US. The larger value base is in Europe, with over 450 million records.

In other words, Europe can negotiate from a strong position. Imagine what would happen if the US had to pay for this data? Or what if Europe established its own search engines, social networks, online retailers, and cloud service alternatives within five years! Now is the best time to enter, because it is the era of artificial intelligence transformation, and monopolies are also being reorganized.

We can confidently question the dominant position of companies like Google. You certainly no longer just use Google for searches, and it may currently account for only 10% of my total searches.

Europe should no longer submit to others. Access to customer data and knowledge needs to be renegotiated. New power relationships are no longer determined by the flow of goods, but by data and knowledge. The Big Seven account for about 30% of the entire US stock market capitalization. Playing this card in the trade dispute will have a much greater effect than agreeing to the US increasing oil and gas sales to Europe.

New Opportunities in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

In the current situation, the EU should also pay more attention to the opportunities brought by the US's current policies and make good use of them. The open discrimination of the US against top research in certain fields has actually created incredible opportunities: even today, European universities are not lagging behind in cutting-edge research. For example, the number of Nobel Prizes, quantum computing, nuclear fusion research, synthetic biology, and the incubation of startups in recent years all reflect this. We should build on this: it is now easier than ever to attract top researchers to Europe, as they enjoy research freedom here without political restrictions or harassment.

In a world completely transformed by artificial intelligence, the survival struggle between the US and China for technological dominance may also bring benefits. Currently, Europe mainly plays the role of a user. There is fierce competition among suppliers, which is not necessarily an economic disadvantage. Europe's goal must be: to compare new artificial intelligence tools and ensure that customers benefit more than suppliers.

Europe must quickly take control of its own destiny. Politicians, including German Chancellor Merkel, have actually realized this. As the third-largest economy in the world, Germany must take responsibility and set the direction. Most EU member states also agree with this.

The current EU Commission lacks courage in reshaping itself, is too dependent on others, and is too weak. At the same time, the list of tasks is long: establishing a common capital market, defending Ukraine and the eastern border, revitalizing a strong and independent arms industry.

However, the application of artificial intelligence brings new opportunities, and Europe has the best conditions to seize these opportunities: Europe's diversity, such as differences in language and regulations, can be overcome by artificial intelligence tools. Language barriers will no longer exist in the coming years. Potential advantages in the fields of art and culture may become even more important in global competition, such as in product and brand aesthetics.

Europe is the best place on Earth, and many people want to come here. Perhaps we should charge entrance fees to tourists, and charge more from American citizens. Especially when they want to humiliate us by imposing tariffs, forcing us to buy fossil fuels, or forcing us to invest in the US. (Translated by Nie Litao)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540595232791118363/

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