At TechBBQ in Copenhagen, investors, founders and operators discussed who should control AI, focusing on European sovereignty. The issue became prominent after Anthropic’s AI models Mythos and Fable were removed from users outside Europe earlier this year, prompting debate over reliance on U.S. and Chinese AI providers. A startup executive said the Mythos and Fable incident disrupted his software team, while another executive said the impact was minimal. The executive added that relying on U.S. and Chinese AI providers could create challenges in the future, but currently there are no major issues. Ellen de Brever, an angel investor and head of partnerships at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator, said the conference theme of agency highlighted a shift from what AI can do to what humans are willing to let it do. Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal, argued that integrating AI assistants into operating systems raises privacy concerns and creates a data collection apparatus. She said AI labs use marketing to obscure the consequences of extensive data collection, but there remains strong demand for privacy in Europe. Emad Mostaque, co‑founder of Stability AI and Intelligent Internet, said concentration of AI development in a few labs means that the person that controls the AI controls the country, implying future national sovereignty will be tied to AI control. Mia Negru, advocacy director at Life With Artificials, warned that intelligent agents could reshape ownership, work, democracy and societal participation. Attendees also noted lighter conversations during networking events hosted by Nvidia, OpenAI, AWS Startups, HSBC and others, including rooftop gatherings and a speakers’ dinner on a Copenhagen island. The event underscored ongoing concerns about AI control and privacy while highlighting the need for European initiatives to shape the technology’s future.