The US holds one dominating advantage in one subset of technology. Consumer-facing internet tech. While a lot of people employed in this field commentate on this website, it's a marginal part of the tech industry, and it's not worth sacrificing privacy for, Europe does not need Silicon Valley to produce high-value products.
And if adtech is supposed to be the definition of the future, rather than genomics, complex manufacturing and the life sciences than I'm okay with us skipping that part. There are business models that don't rely on sacrificing the attention and privacy of consumers.
I do agree that the EU has less of an entrepreneurial spirit. Some cultural elements, but also practical: It is difficult to scale an app, since there are such large language and culture barriers between EU member states. There is a decades long brain-drain of highly technical (AI) people. Finally, it is very hard to compete with US companies, as they skirt the rules, winning all network effects with huge VC infusions.
I always suspected some of that was accomplished with military and intelligence support: The American economy and intelligence apparatus stands to benefit a lot with the entire world using Google and Facebook. The other side of this coin is that the pro-privacy anti-surveillance movement may also be supported by foreign intelligence agencies in an attempt to hurt US economic and military interests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernout_%26_Hauspie#History was close to establishing an AI-type Silicon Valley in Belgium in the early 2000's, but was unsuccessful.
You are succumbing to a lot of stereotypes here, which I might add is fuelled by a cargo cult tendency within Silicon Valley.
That betrays a deep lack of knowledge of what happens in Europe. There are a ton of innovative ideas and services that originated here.
Just off the top of my head, Skype and Spotify are huge and well-known.
/s
/s In cased you missed it.
Clicking on ads is how they fund AI research. Not all tech is equally profitable but you need all kinds. Meanwhile EU is still debating whether it's worth getting into the AI game.
> it's a marginal part of the tech industry
Hilarious
Visit Germany sometime. Drive through the countryside. Most parts of the US look like a hollowed out shell by comparison.
Just like in the rest of the world, in the US too the vast majority of people are clustered in and around urban areas. In order to achieve your goal/argument you counted vast stretches of nothingness. At least since the early 20th century migration to cities has been going on, and it still does - large urbanized areas continue to suck in people from the already emptier areas of the country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaregions_of_the_United_Stat...
In what way do you mean? Wind power?
Textiles? Gone
Light industrial? Gone
Regional banks? Dying
Local banks? Dead
Small retail? Dead
Dairy agriculture? Dying
Family agriculture? Dead
I grew up in a small town. 20 operating farms circa 1990. 2 today. 3 agricultural/equipment dealers, today 0. 5 small/medium manufacturers... 1 today, because of a military contract. School enrollment? -25%.
I watched the beginning of decline when I was in high school. There is no anchor businesses that sustain local economies, and no access to capital. Without government spending, either indirect or direct transfer payments, a shockingly high number of US localities would be in a state of complete implosion.
