Europe’s AI problem isn’t technology but policy

AI adoption is accelerating, but confidence is lagging

Regulatory uncertainty is now the biggest brake on AI adoption across Europe. According to AWS policy lead Sasha Rubel, 68 percent of organisations don’t understand their obligations under the EU AI Act, and many are spending up to 40 percent of IT budgets on compliance.

Billy Linehan interviewed Sasha Rubel at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas.

Europe’s AI problem

AI capability remains central at re:Invent, but governance, skills and trust are increasingly part of the conversation. This message frames a policy-focused conversation with Sasha Rubel of AWS.

Regulation has become the brake

The EU AI Act is now moving from policy into practice. According to Rubel, regulatory uncertainty is now one of the biggest obstacles to AI adoption across Europe.

“One of the biggest blockers to AI adoption is regulatory uncertainty. Right now, around 68 percent of organisations don’t understand their obligations under the EU AI Act, and many are spending up to 40 percent of their IT budgets on compliance-related costs.”

The result is hesitation at precisely the moment when AI is moving from pilots into production. For smaller economies like Ireland, the issue is not just compliance, but speed.

Who is Sasha Rubel?

Sasha Rubel leads AI and generative AI policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Amazon Web Services, working with governments and regulators on how AI is governed and deployed at scale. Before joining AWS in 2021, she spent more than a decade at UNESCO, where she led global work on artificial intelligence, digital transformation and technology policy. Rubel has personal ties to Ireland, sits on Ireland’s AI Advisory Council, and has addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Adoption is accelerating, unevenly

AI uptake across Europe is rising, but Rubel points to a widening gap in how it is being adopted.

“What we’re seeing is a two-tier economy. Startups are moving quickly on AI, while larger organisations and the public sector are moving more slowly.”

The divide is not just between company sizes, but between sectors. Tech-native industries are pulling ahead, while others struggle to translate AI into practical use. For Ireland, where SMEs employ nearly 70% of the workforce, that gap isn’t academic but structural.

Why the public sector matters

Rubel repeatedly returns to trust, and the role of government in building trust.

“I actually salute the Irish government, because Ireland has been very proactive in thinking through how we can accelerate AI adoption in the public sector. When the public sector leads on AI adoption, it inspires trust in citizens, and that trust really matters.”

Visible, responsible public sector use of AI, according to Rubel, gives private companies confidence to move faster, particularly in highly regulated environments.

Skills, not technology, are the constraint

Many businesses say they lack in-house capability, while staff who want to upskill struggle to find the time or afford formal training. The result is slower adoption.

“There are some really key barriers to AI adoption, and the first is digital skills. Ireland has been at the forefront of thinking about how the private sector and the public sector can come together to address that challenge.”

Rubel highlights EdTIPS, an AWS programme bringing AI literacy into Irish primary schools. AWS also offers free, self-paced AI training for adults, covering not just how AI works, but how to use it responsibly, including bias, fairness, privacy and security.

Rubel stresses that progress depends on collaboration.

“Ireland has been at the forefront of national upskilling initiatives that bring together government, policymakers, industry and academia, both nationally and at a local level. That kind of collaboration really matters when technology is moving this fast.”

Democratising access to AI

For Rubel, skills are not just an economic issue, but a participation issue.

“We need to empower everybody to be creators of these solutions. Democratising access to these technologies matters, because only when everyone is around the table can we unlock the opportunities this innovation represents.”

Local insight, Rubel believes, is as important as technical expertise if AI is to solve real-world problems.

Sovereignty becomes infrastructure

These concerns about capability and trust connect directly to Europe’s push for digital sovereignty. In simple terms, sovereignty means control: who can access data, where that data is stored, and which laws apply to it. For governments and regulated organisations, it is about ensuring European data is governed by European rules.

European concerns about data control now shape how cloud systems are designed. Amazon Web Services is moving its European Sovereign Cloud from concept into early implementation. A sovereignty controls framework is now public and enters independent validation in 2026.

Rubel frames sovereignty as enabling, not restrictive.

“Customers want to control who has access to their data, where it is stored, and how it is accessed. Sovereignty, for us, is about giving customers that control while still allowing them to scale.”

Technology partners are already preparing solutions for regulated and public sector workloads, signalling that sovereignty is becoming an architectural requirement rather than a policy aspiration.

Responsibility drives adoption

Rubel rejects the idea that responsibility slows innovation.

“There’s a debate that says responsibility and innovation are opposites. I don’t agree with that. Responsibility builds trust, trust drives adoption, and adoption is what unlocks innovation.”

That message echoes across re:Invent 2025, where governance and operational readiness feature as prominently as new AI capability.

For Ireland, the opportunity isn’t choosing between innovation and responsibility but using policy clarity, skills investment and public sector leadership to make AI deployable at scale.

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About Billy Linehan

This interview was recorded at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas as part of Irish Tech News coverage of enterprise AI and infrastructure deployment.

Billy Linehan is a freelance writer covering innovation, tech for good and entrepreneurship, and is a regular contributor to Irish Tech News. He leads Celtar Advisers as a business mentor working with SME and startup founders, and co-founded StartUp Ballymun, Dublin’s longest-running entrepreneurship series.