PROJECT SYNDICATE | Jun 10, 2026 | Philippe Aghion interviewed by Simon Johnson
For much of the postwar era, European policymakers have prioritized stability and predictability over fostering breakthrough innovation. Today, as the United States and China compete for AI dominance, a stagnant Europe is struggling to regain its place at the technological frontier.
The geopolitical shocks of the past few years, particularly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s assaults on the postwar order, have brought Europe’s economic and strategic vulnerabilities into sharp relief. But it is the race for AI supremacy between the United States and China that has made Europe’s lagging innovation and declining competitiveness impossible to ignore.
Against this backdrop, MIT’s Simon Johnson sat down with fellow Nobel laureate economist Philippe Aghion to examine what ails Europe and how to revive its dynamism. Their conversation addresses the costs of excessive regulation, the role of creative destruction in fostering competition, and the case for keeping AI out of the classroom. It has been edited for length and clarity.
