At TechBBQ in Copenhagen, the conversation between investors, founders and operators from across Europe was not only about what to build with AI, but also about who should control it. No matter where you were during the annual Nordic conference, from the stage to the cocktail parties to the after-parties, the talk kept coming back to how Europe can gain more control over the technology that powers AI.
That sovereignty issue – which fittingly coincided with this year’s theme of “Emerging Agency” – was especially timely after Anthropic’s AI models, Mythos and Fable, became unavailable to users outside of Europe earlier this year.
The incident led many in the European ecosystem to seriously think about what it means to own the models and infrastructure that underpin this wave of AI, rather than renting that power to the United States and China.
One startup executive told me that the Mythos and Fable incident severely disrupted his software team, while another shrugged it off. Sure, the startup executive said, relying on two other geopolitical powers for AI could one day cause Europe serious headaches, but for now, everything is pretty good.
“TechBBQ’s agency theme felt particularly timely this year, as the conversation moved from what AI can do to what we’re actually willing to let it do,” Ellen de Brever, an angel investor and head of partnerships at Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator, told me during the conference that concluded August 27.
There were panels on the future of women’s health, a summit on how Nordic and African ecosystems can collaborate in innovation and investmentand talks about bringing more growth capital to Europe. AI was an underlying theme in many of the conversations, but as De Brever noted, “the debates were not about smarter machines, but about human judgment and who can stay in the driver’s seat.”
“The age of AI agents is not really a story of machines gaining agency,” he continued. “It’s a story about humans deciding what to give up.”
An attendee told me that one of the most refreshing sessions of the event was the panel with Meredith Whittaker, president of the signalwhich I moderated and focused on whether privacy and AI can coexist. Whittaker did not mince his words and spoke out against AI assistants and agents being integrated into operating systems, like what ChatGPT is doing with iMessage.
He said this era of AI is creating a “data collection apparatus” and that AI labs are using clever marketing to make people forget “about the collateral consequences” of acquiring so much data.
“There is still a huge need for privacy in the market,” he said. “And especially when it comes to sovereignty, we will have clients here.”
On the other hand, Emad Mostaque, co-founder of Stability AI and Intelligent Internet, sat on a panel with about how an empowered workforce will impact the economy and what that means for personal sovereignty.
“Sovereignty is the ability to resist the power that is exercised over one,” Mostaque said. He spoke of the concentration of power in the hands of a few AI labs and said: “Inevitably, all countries will be governed by AI and that “the person who controls the AI controls the country.”
Mia Negru, director of advocacy and engagement at the nonprofit Life With Artificials, messaged me after the panel about what was going through her mind while listening.
“If intelligent agents do cognitive work and robots do more and more physical work, we may be approaching something much bigger than another technological revolution,” he said in the message. “We may have to rethink property, work, democracy, economic participation, and eventually even who can participate in society.”
But when the panels weren’t in session, people relaxed at happy hours and rooftop soirées, where lighter conversations eventually took over.
Lovable, Nvidia, OpenAI, AWS Startups and HSBC teamed up to host a rooftop barbecue where I spoke to founders about Denmark’s growing tech hubs.
London’s Ada Ventures hosted a meetup at Bird cocktail bar where I chatted with a healthtech founder about further innovation in the women’s brain health space. Then the speakers’ dinner took place on an island in the center of Copenhagen, where the international press gathered and watched the fire dancers. The after-party continued upstairs, where everyone was tempted to stay for one more drink until the bar tab was settled.
“In a room full of conversations about machines, the most memorable moments still come from the simplest,” de Brever said. “Human connection, face to face, building relationships, sharing ideas and reminding each other what technology can never replace.”
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