Artificial intelligence, the transfer of power to technology giants and Europe’s ability to withstand the sweeping changes of the era were the focus of a discussion between Greek National Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Giuliano da Empoli, organized by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) under the title “Europe in the Age of Power: Who Will Shape Its Future?”
The discussion was moderated by Loukas Tsoukalis, chairman of ELIAMEP’s board of directors and professor at Sciences Po in Paris.
Pierrakakis warned that the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and the increasing power of technology companies risk leaving institutions struggling to keep pace. He called for a more holistic approach to policymaking, involving people with practical knowledge of how decisions are implemented, citing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign as a telling example. Politics, he argued, requires technical expertise and practical know-how, not merely legal or economic competence.
In the same vein, he sharply criticized populism, arguing that easy promises rarely withstand the test of governing and that the real challenge lies in implementing policies effectively.
Da Empoli, for his part, described the disorder that unregulated technologies are creating in the public sphere, arguing that toxic aggression is increasingly becoming an advantage and changing the terms of political contest. He also observed that a number of leaders, with developments on the other side of the Atlantic serving as a point of reference, are seeking to bypass democratic procedures in the name of speed and efficiency.
The discussion also turned to Europe’s far right.
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Da Empoli argued that even a possible victory by Marine Le Pen would not automatically lead to the dismantling of the European Union. He cited Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as an example, saying that despite her hard-line rhetoric during the election campaign, she has adopted a considerably more pragmatic approach in office.