Palantir's Europe head warns the region is 'missing the boat' on AI just as it did with the internet
Palantir's U.K. and Europe head, Louis Mosley, cautioned that Europe's hesitant approach to artificial intelligence risks repeating its past failure to capitalize on the internet economy.
Intelligence analysis by Gemini 2.5 Flash
Mosley argues that while the U.S. has surged ahead in enterprise AI adoption, Europe remains overly cautious, mirroring its slow embrace of the internet. He positions Palantir as a key indicator of AI adoption rates, noting its strong U.S. growth contrasted with European hesitation, attributing some opposition to political controversies that distract from AI's potential benefits.
Imagine Europe and America are building toy cars. America quickly started making lots of cool, fast cars (like the internet and now AI), while Europe worried about how safe the cars were and took a long time to decide. Now, America has a whole highway of these cars, and Europe is still mostly walking. A company called Palantir, which helps build these 'AI cars' for big businesses and governments, says Europe needs to speed up, or it will fall even further behind, just like it did with the internet.
Analysis
Palantir's executive vice president for the U.K. and Europe, Louis Mosley, has issued a stark warning regarding Europe's current trajectory in artificial intelligence. He contends that the region is repeating the same strategic error it made during the rise of the internet, where the U.S. successfully fostered a robust digital economy while Europe largely 'missed the boat.' This historical comparison underscores a significant economic divergence, with the U.S. experiencing compounded growth over the past two decades, while Europe's advancement has been comparatively minimal. Mosley's perspective suggests that Europe's cautious, 'wait and see' attitude towards AI is hindering its ability to innovate and compete on a global scale, potentially leading to further economic stagnation relative to its American counterparts.
Louis Mosley
Louis Mosley's critique extends beyond a general observation, framing Palantir itself as a 'purest proxy on public markets for the rate of AI adoption in an economy.' He points to Palantir's strong commercial revenue growth in the U.S. as evidence of rapid AI integration there, contrasting it with the slower uptake among European corporates. Mosley believes that AI will be even more transformative than the internet, making Europe's current hesitation particularly perilous. He argues that much of the opposition Palantir faces in Europe, often rooted in its defense and law enforcement contracts, serves as a distraction from the pressing need for AI adoption to improve public services and boost productivity. He challenges the notion that ethical concerns over a supplier's foreign contracts should impede domestic progress, such as reducing wait times for medical procedures.
Mosley's comments suggest a frustration with what he perceives as a recurring political failure to articulate the benefits of new technologies to the public. He draws parallels between current criticisms of AI's energy consumption and job disruption to past attacks on bitcoin miners, noting that many of those miners have now transitioned to AI high-performance computing and face similar scrutiny. He maintains that while AI will undoubtedly disrupt jobs, it also holds immense potential to free up professionals like nurses and police from administrative tasks, thereby significantly increasing productivity across various sectors. This perspective emphasizes the need for a more proactive and explanatory political approach to technological advancement, rather than a reactive and hesitant one.
ASML
The article highlights ASML as a rare exception to Europe's general failure to produce internet-era champions. Mosley explicitly states that ASML is 'by far and away the largest European company,' underscoring that significant value creation in the modern economy is concentrated in the tech sector. This singular success story serves as a poignant reminder of what Europe could achieve if it were more adept at fostering technological innovation and scaling companies. However, its rarity also emphasizes the broader pattern of missed opportunities that Mosley warns is being repeated with AI.
ASML's prominence in the global semiconductor industry demonstrates that Europe possesses the talent and capability for technological leadership in specific niches. Yet, the lack of comparable successes across the broader digital economy, particularly in areas like internet services and software, indicates a systemic issue. Mosley's argument implies that without a fundamental shift in approach—moving away from caution and towards proactive adoption and policy support—Europe risks ceding leadership in the AI revolution, just as it did in the internet era, leaving ASML as an isolated beacon rather than a harbinger of widespread European tech dominance.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Palantir's deep ties to defense and law enforcement, including contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), are a significant source of opposition in Europe. Campaigners have raised ethical concerns, particularly regarding the use of Palantir's software in public services like the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS). Mosley acknowledges these controversies, noting that issues like 'Gaza and Trump' tend to 'get those people fired up.' However, he frames these political attacks as a 'distraction' from more pressing domestic priorities.
Mosley's argument is that focusing on a supplier's foreign contracts or political associations diverts attention from the tangible benefits AI can bring to public services, such as improving efficiency in healthcare or law enforcement. He questions whether politicians would justify longer wait times for essential services to constituents based on these 'unrelated foreign contracts.' This perspective suggests a tension between ethical considerations and the perceived practical imperative of technological adoption. While the ethical concerns are valid, Mosley implies that they are being weaponized to impede progress, ultimately harming the very citizens that public services are meant to serve. He believes that the biggest risk to AI adoption is not the technology itself, but rather a political failure to effectively communicate its positive impact on people's lives.
Key points
- Palantir's Louis Mosley warns Europe is repeating its internet-era mistake by being too cautious with AI.
- The U.S. has seen significant economic growth driven by tech, while Europe has lagged, with ASML being a rare exception.
- Mosley views Palantir as a proxy for AI adoption, noting strong U.S. growth versus European hesitation.
- Opposition to Palantir in Europe stems from its defense and law enforcement contracts, which Mosley calls a distraction.
- He argues AI will boost productivity and improve public services, despite concerns over job disruption and energy use.
If Europe heeds Mosley's warning and embraces AI with a more proactive policy framework, it could foster significant innovation, boost productivity across industries, and improve public services. This shift could lead to renewed economic growth, creating new opportunities and narrowing the technological gap with the U.S.
Should Europe continue its cautious 'wait and see' approach to AI, it risks further economic stagnation and a widening technological disparity with the U.S. This could result in missed opportunities for productivity gains, reduced global competitiveness, and a failure to leverage AI's potential to enhance public welfare.
