Last week, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit gathered in Paris, France to discuss the future of the technology. The tone was decidedly determined and optimistic; world leaders committed to cutting red tape and embracing innovation.

Vice President Vance spoke eloquently in his keynote address on the opportunity and promise of AI. He began, “I’m not here this morning to talk about AI safety, which was the title of the conference a couple of years ago. I’m here to talk about AI opportunity.” Correctly identifying fear-based regulation as the primary obstacle to AI leadership, he went on to encourage European regulators to reject their risk averse approach for both their own and America’s sake. His address painted a vision for a culture that encourages innovation and harnesses AI to enhance industries and productivity.

The Vice President was not preaching to the choir. The European Union and France in particular have pursued aggressive preemptive regulation and strict risk-based rulemaking. The restrictive climate of the European Union has caused it to lag behind in what has effectively become a global AI arms race. Last year, the European Court of Auditors, a government agency monitoring revenue and expenses, noted in a report that “The EU has so far had little success in developing Europe’s artificial intelligence ecosystem, and has failed to accelerate AI investment on a par with global leaders.” By prioritizing fear, the European Union set themselves up for failure. Sweeping measures like the Digital Markets Act and the AI Act crippled innovation within the EU, and made Europe an undesirable market for global technology companies.

However, it seems the tides could soon turn for the European tech sector. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, pledged, “We will simplify…It’s very clear we have to resynchronize with the rest of the world.” Similarly, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, outlined a plan for aggressive investment in AI. Speaking at the same summit she said, “We want Europe to be one of the leading AI continents, and this means embracing a life where AI is everywhere.”

The recent DeepSeek shock, wherein a Chinese AI developer shook global markets, was a reminder for the United States, France, and Europe more broadly that bureaucratic restrictions and abundant red tape are luxuries that are simply unaffordable. AI capability and competition has implications for every sector, the economy, and crucially, national security. Vice President Vance’s vision for a culture of AI opportunity is a lesson for American and European regulators on how to leave the crippling regulations of previous administrations behind.