Geo-economics, Data Protection and AI

In this contribution, based on my Keynote at the Opening Night of CPDP2025, I briefly discuss how law institutes economic markets, how national law depends on international law and where geo-economics matters. I will then investigate how AI infrastructure’s need for massive amounts of electricity, water and rare earth minerals is transforming the playing field of international law, noting that the consolidation of Big Tech corporations has already impacted the political economy of law. Finally, I will discuss the ideology of artificial general intelligence (AGI), and propose that the European approach to legislating, governing and judging artificial intelligence (AI) as ‘a normal technology’ is a viable though contested alternative that must be consolidated, defended and further developed to survive geopolitical power grabs by the US, Russia and China.