Europe faces a key choice regarding the future of its digital sovereignty. Mike Blandina, who has traveled from JP Morgan through the implementation of Google Wallet to the CIO position (Chief Information Officer) in Snowflake, in an interview with Business Insider indicates, how to build digital sovereignty.
The issue of a “sovereign cloud” in Europe often boils down to a server location debate. Blandina considers it a fundamental misunderstanding. – Many people think that “sovereign cloud” means that the data must be stored only within the limits of a given countrypreferably in a local data center – explains the popular view.
– Meanwhile, true data sovereignty is much more than just the physical location of the files. It is about who has control over them, what are the access mechanisms, what the regulations with regulations look like, and what rights users and companies have to do with their information – emphasizes the expert.
According to him, Europe has an advantage if it treats data sovereignty as a joint project. – I think the EU has an advantage if it treats data sovereignty as a joint project, not individual state initiatives. This has already worked with banking licenses – the license in one country allows you to operate throughout the EU. This is a good direction – he assessed.
For smaller countries, building a separate infrastructure has no economic sense. – In some countries, building a separate infrastructure does not make sense – it will not attract actual investments, and the largest players will not be interested in it – because the demand there is too small because of the market size – he argues.
European chance
Blandina sees great potential in Europe for the development of her own global technology companies. “Absolutely yes, this is a large, important market” – confirms the continent's capabilities. In his opinion, however, the problem may be inflation of law. “However, the challenge is excessive regulation and bureaucracy. If the Union does it once, well, but if each country has its own rules, running a business will become very difficult.”
His postulate sounds clear: “We need balanced regulations that will not kill innovation.” – We have a GDPR in Europe, and we are just beginning to solve the issues of data, trust and security – he adds.
The future of technology
When asked about a breakthrough in the technology industry, Mike Blandina points out that It is not worth attaching to one solution that seems groundbreaking today. – If we look back, technological revolutions always run according to a similar scheme: quick innovations, then rationalization and consolidation of the industry, and then the next step forward. Take an example of the smartphone market: Motorola Razr was a hit in 2007, but only the iPhone showed what the computer really is in your pocket. It was similar with search engines – there used to be a dozen or so, today we have Google and Bing. I had the opportunity to participate in the launch of Google Wallet in finance. Then the idea of paying by phone seemed revolutionary, and today it is the norm, especially in Europe. Key application? It is not worth betting on one solution too early – customers choose themselves what will be adopted on the market – he assesses.
AI: Between the revolution and reality
In this context, he describes the current boom on AI Blandina as “the most exciting thing that has happened in technology for 40 years”. – When in 2022 I used chatgpt for the first time, I was surprised how easy my wife, who is not “technical”, began to use it. It was a real technological leap – he assessed.
However, enthusiasm is mixed with realism. Blandina pays attention to a key problem. – AI's bad decision can be very expensive. The problem is that we often do not think about the likelihood of an erroneous answer – Nobody wants to admit that AI's answer is good only in 85 percent. – he admits.
That is why it provides for further development, but with greater maturity. – We have many innovations, but also many corrections, standards and subsequent waves of development. This is a natural cycle that we have been observing since the mainframes of IBM – he states.
Is AI a speculative bubble?
When asked about a potential speculative bubble around AI, the former IT head in JP Morgan is carefully responding. – I don't see the bubble, but this does not mean that she will not appear. At the moment, companies are in a better situation than during the early era of the Internet – he says. At the same time, he warns against local overheating: “However, I think there will be micropędies in some areas. AI agents are now a very popular topic, but it's still only noise.”
