On April 24th, we organized a Cluster Breakfast with Technopark Pomerania. The discussion focused on the consequences of the growing dominance of American tech companies, which could affect Europe’s digital security and sovereignty in the context of the current geopolitical and economic situation. The conversation centered on regulatory aspects and the need for strategic actions to protect local interests and build Europe’s digital independence.
Daniel Wacinkiewicz, President of Technopark Pomerania, and Magdalena Ławicka opened the event. In their speeches, they outlined the main goals of the meeting, emphasizing its purpose: a substantive discussion on the impact of global technology providers’ dominance on Europe’s digital security.
Grzegorz Kober from whitesky.cloud Poland was the first speaker. He introduced the participants to the risks associated with using services provided by American tech giants. Grzegorz highlighted that more and more organizations are moving their critical systems to the cloud, which makes the control over IT infrastructure increasingly strategic. He also pointed out the growing investments from large tech companies in data centers (DCs) in Poland, which are increasingly impacting key sectors such as public administration, healthcare, energy, and defense. He presented incidents involving leading cloud service providers, pointing out potential risks and the lack of complete control over data. He also discussed private clouds as an alternative that could enhance security and technological independence for companies operating in Europe, although noting that even private clouds are not immune to incidents like external attacks or physical actions. Presentation of the speech >>
Our next speaker, Grzegorz Chamulak from Xcomp spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością sp. k., shared the opinion of the previous speaker and other participants. He emphasized that risks for the Polish market exist in the context of threats from American tech giants and their Chinese counterparts. He pointed out that both directions could affect Poland’s data security and IT infrastructure.
Our speakers supported the argument that one of the safer solutions is adopting a hybrid cloud model, combining public and private clouds, which ensures greater flexibility and control over data.
The speakers’ topics generated significant interest and quickly sparked lively reactions from the audience. Participants shared their experiences in using public clouds and implementing private solutions, enriching the discussion with practical perspectives and real-life examples from businesses.
The participants also emphasized the necessity of becoming independent from Big Tech companies and creating a European security system, even developing national models that key sectors, such as defense, healthcare, and cybersecurity, could rely on.
In the second part of the meeting, the first speaker was attorney Jakub Cieślicki from the law firm Cieślicki i Wspólnicy, who presented the current legal state and upcoming regulations related to artificial intelligence, focusing on the AI ACT. He discussed which areas are already subject to regulation and what can be expected once the new laws are enacted. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the legislative perspective on the development of AI in the European Union. Presentation of the speech >>
Next, Tomasz Sulikowski from the ON.AI Association took the floor, presenting current initiatives supporting the development and popularization of AI knowledge within the Szczecin community.
The event concluded with a networking session over coffee, tea, and sweet refreshments—creating a relaxed atmosphere that allowed for continued conversations, networking, and exchanging experiences in a less formal setting.
We would like to thank everyone for their participation and the inspiring exchange of opinions!
