By Adarsh Verma Ah, parenting in 2025. Once, the biggest fear was your kid ordering 12 pizzas by accident….
The post Why Parents Prefer Xbox Gift Cards Over Credit Cards for Their Kids’ Gaming Purchases appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Siôn Geschwindt The European Space Agency (ESA) has blasted its Biomass satellite into space aboard a Vega-C rocket. The launch took place at 11:15 (CEST) today from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.  Now in orbit, the first-of-its-kind satellite will deploy a radar antenna that looks like a giant space umbrella. Developed by US defence contractor L3 Harris, the antenna is so intricate that it will take nine days to unfold in orbit. The umbrella’s job is to direct radar pulses from a P-band radar instrument mounted on the satellite’s body down to the forests below. This type of radar uses long…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

The massive power outage that is impacting much of Spain and Portugal, and that left parts of France without electricity, is remarkable both for its speed and also its reach, an industry analyst said Monday.

The outage began around 12:30 p.m. central European time (8:30 a.m. eastern daylight saving time (EDT)), and as of 5:30 p.m. EDT, according to the BBC live feed, “some electricity supplies are being restored, both in Spain and Portugal. But the disruption continues to be massive.” In France, parts of the country’s Basque region were also affected for part of the day, but power there has since been restored.

John Annand, practice lead at Info-Tech Research Group, said from what he has seen online so far, at this time, “both [Spanish power distributor] Red Eléctrica de España and REN [the entity responsible for maintaining Portugal’s electrical grid] have said that the failure happened at the 400 kV backbone that ties the Iberian grid to the rest of continental Europe.”

There is, he said, “some speculation that the cause may have been an ‘extremely rare atmospheric phenomenon’ or a fire on a French transmission line, but it seems officials have also not ruled out anything cyber so far. This is interesting, because the first two potential causes are physical, and the third one is digital. Our modern grids today live in both realms … and are very vulnerable in both.”

“For tech leaders, the lesson isn’t the exotic cause, but the cascade that follows it,” Annand said. “Europe has been shifting towards weather-dependent renewables, and its grid is moving away from the comforting spin of gigantic turbines.”

Now, he said, “it has to lean harder on software, SCADA links, and inverter controls. These systems are definitely improving, but the will to fund those upgrades typically spikes only after a high-visibility failure, like the one we’re seeing now.”

While enterprises may not be able to harden a transmission backbone, Annand said that “they can close their own resilience gaps and take on responsible business continuity planning. With greater and greater demand (because of things like AI), there’s less slack in the national/international systems to provide redundancy in the event of an outage.”

He added, “if an IT leader can’t trust their vendor (even their power vendor), then it’s up to them to ensure they take steps to close their own resilience gaps. They can check that their generators have enough fuel for more than a day, that their cloud architectures can fail over to outside regions, and that their telecom providers offer extended battery or satellite back-up for last-mile links.”

“The gap between national infrastructure incidents and corporate downtime is just one flicker of the lights,” Annand said, “and the time to patch that gap is before the next rare event, not after.”

With files from Computerworld Spain.

Source:: Computer World

By now, most online users are probably tired of all the notifications asking whether to allow or block cookies when browsing the web.

Since 2022, the Brave browser has offered built-in blocking of these notifications, but the feature does not display some sites correctly. Brave’s solution to the problem is Cookiecrumbler, a new extension that uses AI to block the notifications without affecting page display.

Cookiecrumbler is based on open-source code, and since the blocking is done via Brave’s servers, there should be no danger to privacy, Bleeping Computer reports.

Cookiecrumbler will eventually be integrated into Brave, but if users want to test the extension now, it’s available for free from Github.

Source:: Computer World

By Adarsh Verma Narrative-driven games aren’t new, but what they’re doing now is. We’ve gone way past “games can…
The post How Video Games Are Redefining Modern Storytelling appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Siôn Geschwindt German defence tech startup ARX Robotics has secured €31mn to ramp up production of its autonomous battlefield robots, which look like mini tanks — minus the guns.  ARX — backed by NATO’s Innovation Fund — will also use the fresh capital to advance its operating system, Mithras OS. The software is designed to modernise existing military vehicles through AI, sensor systems, and autonomous driving capabilities. The company estimates it can retrofit 50,000 NATO vehicles with the tech. The co-founder and CEO of ARX, Marc Wietfeld — who will speak at TNW Conference and the Assembly in June — wants his…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Hisan Kidwai Inspired by the super-popular anime series Demon Slayer, Project Slayers is an action RPG game where…
The post Project Slayers Codes (April 2025) appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Andrea Hak In the global race to become the next big tech hotspot, many countries pour billions into nurturing homegrown talent, courting VCs, and crafting startup-friendly policies. While some struggle to gain momentum, others seem to leap forward—fast. So, what sets apart these rapid risers? What’s the secret to ecosystem transformation? Look no further than Bulgaria—a country that’s quietly but confidently building one of Europe’s most exciting tech stories. The key ingredients For years, Bulgaria has been a magnet for global tech firms thanks to its flat 10% tax rate, highly skilled workforce, and cost efficiency. Industry giants like SAP, Microsoft, Oracle,…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Blair Marnell Ian McDiarmid still has trouble wrapping his head around Star Wars Episode IX’s familial revelations about the Emperor.

Source:: Digital Trends

The European Union (EU) AI Act may seem like a done deal, but stakeholders are still drafting the code of practice that will lay out rules for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models, including those with systemic risk.

Now, though, as that drafting process approaches its deadline, US President Donald Trump is reportedly pressuring European regulators to scrap the rulebook. The US administration and other critics claim that it stifles innovation, is burdensome, and extends the bounds of the AI law, essentially creating new, unnecessary rules.

The US government’s Mission to the EU recently reached out to the European Commission and several European governments to oppose its adoption in its current form, Bloomberg reports.

“Big tech, and now government officials, argue that the draft AI rulebook layers on extra obligations, including third party model testing and full training data disclosure, that go beyond what is in the legally binding AI Act’s text, and furthermore, would be very challenging to implement at scale,” explained Thomas Randall, director of AI market research at Info-Tech Research Group.

Onus is shifting from vendor to enterprise

On its web page describing the initiative, the European Commission said, “the code should represent a central tool for providers to demonstrate compliance with the AI Act, incorporating state-of-the-art practices.”

The code is voluntary, but the goal is to help providers prepare to satisfy the EU AI Act’s regulations around transparency, copyright, and risk mitigation. It is being drafted by a diverse group of general-purpose AI model providers, industry organizations, copyright holders, civil society representatives, members of academia, and independent experts, overseen by the European AI Office.

The deadline for its completion is the end of April. The final version is set to be presented to EU representatives for approval in May, and will go into effect in August, one year after the AI Act came into force. It will have teeth; Randall pointed out that non-compliance could draw fines of up to 7% of global revenue, or heavier scrutiny by regulators, once it takes effect.

But whether or not Brussels, the de facto capital of the EU, relaxes or enforces the current draft, the weight of ‘responsible AI’ is already shifting from vendors to the customer organizations deploying the technology, he noted.

“Any organization conducting business in Europe needs to have its own AI risk playbooks, including privacy impact checks, provenance logs, or red-team testing, to avoid contractual, regulatory, and reputational damages,” Randall advised.

He added that if Brussels did water down its AI code, it wouldn’t just be handing companies a free pass, “it would be handing over the steering wheel.”

Clear, well-defined rules can at least mark where the guardrails sit, he noted. Strip those out, and every firm, from a garage startup to a global enterprise, will have to chart its own course on privacy, copyright, and model safety. While some will race ahead, others will likely have to tap the brakes because the liability would “sit squarely on their desks.”

“Either way, CIOs need to treat responsible AI controls as core infrastructure, not a side project,” said Randall.

A lighter touch regulatory landscape

If other countries were to follow the current US administration’s approach to AI legislation, the result would likely be a lighter touch regulatory landscape with reduced federal oversight, noted Bill Wong, AI research fellow at Info-Tech Research Group.

He pointed out that in January, the US administration issued Executive Order 14179, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.” Right after that, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) updated its guidance for scientists working with the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI). Further, references to “AI safety,” “responsible AI,” and “AI fairness” were removed; instead, a new emphasis was placed on “reducing ideological bias to enable human flourishing and economic competitiveness.”

Wong said: “In effect, the updated guidance appears to encourage partners to align with the executive order’s deregulatory stance.”

Source:: Computer World

By Stephen Slaybaugh You can get your groceries and anything else you need delivered for free with a Walmart+ Free Trial.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Deepti Pathak ONLYOFFICE has just released a major DocSpace update, which focuses heavily on allowing users to effectively…
The post Everything You Need To Know About ONLYOFFICE Docspace 3.1 Update appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

We’re all talking to fake people now, but most people don’t realize that interacting with AI is a subtle and powerful skill that can and should be learned.

The first step in developing this skill set is to acknowledge to yourself what kind of AI you’re talking to and why you’re talking to it.

AI voice interfaces are powerful because our brains are hardwired for human speech. Even babies’ brains are tuned to voices before they can talk, picking up language patterns early on. This built-in conversational skill helped our ancestors survive and connect, making language one of our most essential and deeply rooted abilities.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t think more clearly about how to talk when we speak to AI. After all, we already speak differently to other people in different situations. For example, we talk one way to our colleagues at work and a different way to our spouses.

Yet people still talk to AI like it’s a person, which it’s not; like it can understand, which it cannot; and like it has feelings, pride, or the ability to take offense, which it doesn’t.

The two main categories of talking AI

It’s helpful to break the world of talking AI (both spoken and written) into two categories:

Fantasy role playing, which we use for entertainment.

Tools, which we use for some productive end, either to learn information or to get a service to do something useful for us.

Let’s start with role-playing AI.

AI for pretending

You may have heard of a site and app called Status AI, which is often described as a social network where everyone else on the network is an AI agent.

A better way to think about it is that it’s a fantasy role-playing game in which the user can pretend to be a popular online influencer.

Status AI is a virtual world that simulates social media platforms. Launched as a digital playground, it lets people create online personas and join fan communities built around shared interests. It “feels” like a social network, but every interaction—likes, replies, even heated debates—comes from artificial intelligence programmed to act like real users, celebrities, or fictional characters.

It’s a place to experiment, see how it feels to be someone else, and interact with digital versions of celebrities in ways that aren’t possible on real social media. The feedback is instant, the engagement is constant, and the experience, though fake, is basically a game rather than a social network.

Another basket of role-playing AI comes from Meta, which has launched AI-powered accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp that let users interact with digital personas — some based on real celebrities like Tom Brady and Paris Hilton, others entirely fictional. These AI accounts are clearly labeled as such, but (thanks to AI) can chat, post, and respond like real people. Meta also offers tools for influencers to use AI agents to reply to fans and manage posts, mimicking their style. These features are live in the US, with plans to expand, and are part of Meta’s push to automate and personalize social media.

Because these tools aim to provide make-believe engagements, it’s reasonable for users to pretend like they’re interacting with real people.

These Meta tools attempt to cash in on the wider and older phenomenon of virtual online influencers. These are digital characters created by companies or artists, but they have social media accounts and appear to post just like any influencer. The best-known example is Lil Miquela, launched in 2016 by the Los Angeles startup Brud, which has amassed 2.5 million Instagram followers. Another is Shudu, created in 2017 by British photographer Cameron-James Wilson, presented as the world’s first digital supermodel. These characters often partner with big brands.

A post by one of the major virtual influencer accounts can get hundreds or thousands of likes and comments. The content of these comments ranges from admiration for their style and beauty to debates about their digital nature. Presumably, many people think they’re commenting to real people, but most probably engage with a role-playing mindset.

By 2023, there were hundreds of these virtual influencers worldwide, including Imma from Japan and Noonoouri from Germany. They’re especially popular in fashion and beauty, but some, like FN Meka, have even released music. The trend is growing fast, with the global virtual influencer market estimated at over $4 billion by 2024.

AI for knowledge and productivity

We’re all familiar with LLM-based chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Meta AI, Mistral, and Perplexity.

The public may be even more familiar with non-LLM assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, Bixby, and Cortana, which have been around much longer.

I’ve noticed that most people make two general mistakes when interacting with these chatbots or assistants.

The first is that they interact with them as if they’re people (or role-playing bots). And the second is that they don’t use special tactics to get better answers.

People often treat AI chatbots like humans, adding “please,” “thank you,” and even apologies. But the AI doesn’t care, remember, and is not significantly affected by these niceties. Some people even say “hi” or “how are you?” before asking their real questions. They also sometimes ask for permission, like “Can you tell me…” or “Would you mind…” which adds no value. Some even sign off with “goodbye” or “thanks for your help,” but the AI doesn’t notice or care.

Politeness to AI wastes time — and money! A year ago, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick pointed out that people using “please” and “thank you” in AI prompts add extra tokens, which increases the compute power needed by the LLM chatbot companies. This concept resurfaced on April 16 of this year, when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman replied to another user on X, saying (perhaps exaggerating) that polite words in prompts have cost OpenAI “tens of millions of dollars.”

“But wait a second, Mike,” you say. “I heard that saying ‘please’ to AI chatbots gets you better results.” And that’s true — sort of. Several studies and user experiments have found that AI chatbots can give more helpful, detailed answers when users phrase requests politely or add “please” and “thank you.” This happens because the AI models, trained on vast amounts of human conversation, tend to interpret polite language as a cue for more thoughtful responses.

But prompt engineering experts say that clear, specific prompts — such as giving context or stating exactly what you want — consistently produce much better results than politeness.

In other words, politeness is a tactic for people who aren’t very good at prompting AI chatbots.

The best way to get top-quality answers from AI chatbots is to be specific and direct in your request. Always say exactly what you want, using clear details and context.

Another powerful tactic is something called “role prompting” — tell the chatbot to act as a world-class expert, such as, “You are a leading cybersecurity analyst,” before asking a question about cybersecurity. This method, proven in studies like Sander Schulhoff’s 2025 review of over 1,500 prompt engineering papers, leads to more accurate and relevant answers because it tells the chatbot to favor content in the training data produced by experts, rather than just lumping the expert opinion in with the uneducated viewpoints.

Also: Give background if it matters, like the audience or purpose.

(And don’t forget to fact-check responses. AI chatbots often lie and hallucinate.)

It’s time to up your AI chatbot game. Unless you’re into using AI for fantasy role playing, stop being polite. Instead, use prompt engineering best practices for better results.

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AI voice interfaces arepowerful because our brains are hardwired for human speech. Even babies’ brainsare tuned to voices before they can talk, picking up language patterns earlyon. This built-in conversational skill helped our ancestors survive and connect,making language one of our most essential and deeply rooted abilities.But that doesn’t mean we can’tthink more clearly about how to talk when we speak to AI. After all, we alreadyspeak differently to other people in different situations. For example, we talkone way to our colleagues at work and a different way to our spouses. Yet people still talk to AIlike it’s a person, which it’s not; like it can understand, which it cannot;and like it has feelings, pride, or the ability to take offense, which itdoesn’t. The two main categories oftalking AIIt’s helpful to break theworld of talking AI (both spoken and written) into two categories: >1.    Fantasy role playing, which we use forentertainment. >2.    Tools, which we use for some productive end,either to learn information or to get a service to do something useful for us. Let’s start with role-playingAI. id=”ai-for-pretending”>AI for pretending>You may have heard of a siteand app called Status AI, which is oftendescribed as a social network where everyone else on the network is an AIagent. A better way to think about itis that it’s a fantasy role-playing game in which the user can pretend to be apopular online >influencer. Status AI is a virtual worldthat simulates social media platforms. Launched as a digital playground, itlets people create online personas and join fan communities built around sharedinterests. It “feels” like a social network, but every interaction—likes,replies, even heated debates—comes from artificial intelligence programmed toact like real users, celebrities, or fictional characters.It’s a place to experiment,see how it feels to be someone else, and interact with digital versions ofcelebrities in ways that aren’t possible on real social media. The feedback isinstant, the engagement is constant, and the experience, though fake, isbasically a game rather than a social network. Another basket of role-playingAI comes from Meta, which has launchedAI-powered accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp that let usersinteract with digital personas — some based on real celebrities like Tom Bradyand Paris Hilton, others entirely fictional. These AI accounts are clearlylabeled as such, but (thanks to AI) can chat, post, and respond like realpeople. Meta also offers tools for influencers to use AI agents to reply tofans and manage posts, mimicking their style. These features are live in theUS, with plans to expand, and are part of Meta’s push to automate andpersonalize social media.Because these tools aim toprovide make-believe engagements, it’s reasonable for users to pretend likethey’re interacting with real people. These Meta tools attempt tocash in on the wider and older phenomenon of virtual online influencers. Theseare digital characters created by companies or artists, but they have socialmedia accounts and appear to post just like any influencer. The best-knownexample is Lil Miquela, launched in 2016 by the Los Angeles startup Brud, whichhas amassed 2.5 million Instagram followers. Another is Shudu, created in 2017by British photographer Cameron-James Wilson, presented as the world’s firstdigital supermodel. These characters often partner with big brands. A post by one of the majorvirtual influencer accounts can get hundreds or thousands of likes andcomments. The content of these comments ranges from admiration for their styleand beauty to debates about their digital nature. Presumably, many people thinkthey’re commenting to real people, but most probably engage with a role-playingmindset. By 2023, there were hundredsof these virtual influencers worldwide, including Imma from Japan and Noonoourifrom Germany. They’re especially popular in fashion and beauty, but some, likeFN Meka, have even released music. The trend is growing fast, with the globalvirtual influencer market estimated at over $4 billion by 2024. id=”ai-for-knowledge-and-productivity”>AI for knowledge and productivity>We’re all familiar withLLM-based chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Meta AI, Mistral, andPerplexity. The public may be even morefamiliar with non-LLM assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, Bixby, andCortana, which have been around much longer.I’ve noticed that most peoplemake two general mistakes when interacting with these chatbots or assistants.The first is that theyinteract with them as if they’re people (or role-playing bots). And the secondis that they don’t use special tactics to get better answers. People often treat AI chatbotslike humans, adding “please,” “thank you,” and evenapologies. But the AI doesn’t care, remember, and is not significantly affectedby these niceties. Some people even say “hi” or “how areyou?” before asking their real questions. They also sometimes ask forpermission, like “Can you tell me…” or “Would you mind…”which adds no value. Some even sign off with “goodbye” or“thanks for your help,” but the AI doesn’t notice or care. Politeness to AI wastes time —and money! A year ago, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick pointed out that peopleusing “please” and “thank you” in AI prompts add extratokens, which increases the compute power needed by the LLM chatbot companies.This concept resurfaced on April 16 of this year, when OpenAI CEO Sam Altmanreplied to anotheruser on X, confirming that polite words in prompts have cost OpenAI “tens of millions ofdollars.” “But wait a second,Mike,” you say. “I heard that saying ‘please’ to AI chatbots gets youbetter results.” And that’s true — sort of. Several studies and userexperiments have found that AI chatbots can give more helpful, detailed answerswhen users phrase requests politely or add “please” and “thankyou.” This happens because the AI models, trained on vast amounts of humanconversation, tend to interpret polite language as a cue for more thoughtfulresponses.But prompt engineering expertssay that clear, specific prompts — such as giving context or stating exactlywhat you want — consistently produce much better results than politeness. In other words, politeness isa tactic for people who aren’t very good at prompting AI chatbots. The best way to gettop-quality answers from AI chatbots is to be specific and direct in yourrequest. Always say exactly what you want, using clear details and context. Another powerful tactic issomething called “role prompting” — tell the chatbot to act as aworld-class expert, such as, “You are a leading cybersecurityanalyst,” before asking a question about cybersecurity. This method,proven in studies like SanderSchulhoff’s 2025 review of over 1,500 prompt engineering papers, leads tomore accurate and relevant answers because it tells the chatbot to favorcontent in the training data produced by experts, rather than just lumping theexpert opinion in with the uneducated viewpoints. Also: Give background if itmatters, like the audience or purpose. (And don’t forget tofact-check responses. AI chatbots often lie and hallucinate.)It’s time to up your AI chatbot game.Unless you’re into using AI for fantasy role playing, stop being polite.Instead, use prompt engineering best practices for better results.

Source:: Computer World

By Hisan Kidwai Inspired by the beloved anime series Naruto, Ninja Time (previously called The Time of Ninja) is…
The post Ninja Time Codes (April 2025) appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Nadeem Sarwar One of the best ChatGPT tools is Deep Research, but so far, it has required a subscription. OpenAI now offers a lighter version and expanded it to free users.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Nick Godt Slate has unveiled a $20K electric truck that transforms into an SUV.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Luke Edwards If you want a watch that will still be going even after your puny human body is done and dusted, then the Garmin Instinct 3 Tactical is the watch to outlast you. Garmin has just unveiled the latest in its Tactical line-up of Instinct wearables as its toughest and most feature rich yet. This watch […]

Source:: Digital Trends

By Thomas Macaulay As our favourite Dutch holiday approaches, TNW is celebrating the tech titans shaping the future in the Netherlands. Our beloved home country is the proud parent of a prodigious brood of digital talent. It’s given birth to cultivated meat, raised Booking.com to become the world’s largest online travel agency, and watched with joy as ASML grew into Europe’s most valuable tech company. The family also includes a gifted group of startups and scaleups. In recent years, economic headwinds, geopolitical turbulence, and questionable government policies have blown some of their progress off course, but Dutch tech continues to punch well above…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

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A growing chorus of European technology executives is calling for the continent to assert control over its digital future, with Danish IT services giant Netcompany leading the latest push for technological self-reliance.

In an open letter published on Wednesday — coinciding with the symbolic illumination of the Statue of Liberty replica in Paris a day before — Netcompany CEO André Rogaczewski explicitly challenged Europe’s dependence on foreign technology platforms and urged the region to “bring our data home.”

“From social media to cloud infrastructure, from applications to algorithms, we are dependent on technologies developed elsewhere, by actors who may not share our values,” warned Rogaczewski, whose firm employs over 8,000 technology consultants across Europe.

The high-profile campaign comes amid escalating tensions in global technology markets, with the European Commission recently intensifying scrutiny of US cloud providers’ market practices and ahead of upcoming EU-US discussions on trans-Atlantic data governance frameworks.

“We are calling for European solutions — built by European companies, run on European data, and accountable to European citizens,” Rogaczewski stated, directly challenging the market dominance of American tech giants including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services, which collectively control a significant majority of Europe’s cloud infrastructure market according to industry reports.

Europe’s strategic pivot in digital policy

The remarks come amid a concerted push by European governments and institutions to localize control over key digital systems. Recent EU policies — the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the AI Act — are part of an evolving legal framework to strengthen regional oversight of platforms, algorithms, and cloud-based services.

A month ago, leading European companies and lobbying groups — including Airbus, Element, and Nextcloud — under the umbrella of “EuroStack Initiative” signed an open letter urging the creation of an EU sovereign infrastructure fund to boost public investment in innovative technologies and build strategic autonomy in key sectors.

“Building strategic autonomy in key sectors is now a recognised urgent imperative across Europe. As part of this common effort, Europe needs to recover the initiative, and become more technologically independent across all layers of its critical digital infrastructure,” the EuroStack letter read.

These initiatives follow a global trend where technology is no longer seen purely through the lens of innovation or efficiency but as a strategic national asset. The US has tightened its grip on semiconductor exports to China. China, in turn, is accelerating its own domestic tech stack and enforcing data localization. In this shifting context, Europe’s historical reliance on the US and Chinese digital infrastructure has become a liability.

Building a European tech ecosystem

Netcompany, a publicly listed IT services provider with operations across Europe, is among a growing number of regional firms advocating for digital sovereignty. Their CEO’s comments underline the urgency to reduce reliance on US-based cloud giants and software vendors. Instead, the letter encourages a continental effort to cultivate indigenous technologies that align with European legal standards and ethical norms.

“Technology lies at the heart of our wealth creation,” Rogaczewski said. “It drives our competitiveness and sits at the very center of how we communicate, learn, and develop as societies.”

This vision extends beyond public discourse into concrete initiatives. GAIA-X, a European cloud infrastructure initiative, exemplifies this push toward a sovereign tech ecosystem, alongside other strategic programs including SiPearl and the EU’s AI Continent Action Plan that target capabilities in cloud infrastructure, semiconductors, and AI.

US tech giants have not been idle in response to these sovereignty concerns. Amazon Web Services, for instance, has committed to a €7.8 billion ($8.9 billion) investment in an “AWS European Sovereign Cloud” and maintains that its approach has been “sovereign-by-design” from the beginning, with customers having “complete control over where they locate their data” within European regions and verifiable control over who can access it.

“While complete technological independence is a complex and long-term goal, Europe is clearly building momentum toward digital and AI sovereignty,” said Shreeya Deshpande, senior analyst at Everest Group, highlighting how the coordinated nature of such efforts reflects growing momentum across Europe.

While challenges remain, particularly in scaling and integrating across fragmented markets, the political will and regulatory backing for European tech nationalism is growing.

Sovereignty without isolation

Rogaczewski’s appeal reflects a growing consensus among European stakeholders that sovereignty does not mean isolation. Rather, it signals a recalibration of Europe’s role in the global digital order. Europe is seeking to maintain open markets and innovation, while ensuring that core digital infrastructure and sensitive data remain under regional control.

“Emerging mechanisms, such as data embassies and sovereign cloud frameworks, offer a practical middle path — enabling countries to maintain legal and operational control over data and AI systems while remaining interoperable with global platforms,” Deshpande added.

The message resonates with policymakers who see technology not just as a tool of commerce but as a pillar of democratic governance. “This places our security, sovereignty, and democracy at risk,” Rogaczewski warned, referring to Europe’s current dependency on foreign platforms.

The lighting of the Statue of Liberty — once gifted by France to the US as a symbol of shared democratic values — served as a potent backdrop to Rogaczewski’s message. He framed his letter as both a reminder of historical ties and a warning that those values are now “under heavy pressure.” “Our modern societies are based on the very same principles of freedom and democracy,” he wrote. “We must stand united in our commitment to these values and fight for them each and every day.”

Source:: Computer World