Dublin AI Declaration moves Europe from rules to capability

This article originally appeared on seanblanchfield.com, published on 24 October 2026. Read the original.

24 Oct 2026 · Sean Blanchfield

Ireland pulled off something important at the International AI Summit on 14 October. Representatives of 24 EU member states adopted the Dublin AI Declaration.

The Dublin Declaration on Trustworthy, Safe and Sovereign Artificial Intelligence sets seven priorities:

1. Advance European AI safety and resilience.
2. Build trustworthy applied AI capability.
3. Strengthen European AI sovereignty.
4. Invest in AI infrastructure and skills.
5. Ensure the sustainability of AI.
6. Lead through public-sector innovation.
7. Deepen European and international cooperation.

A major shift

Commitments 1–4 signal a major shift in focus towards building European capability, not further regulation. Europe already has the world's most comprehensive AI regulation. We must now move beyond rules and develop technical capabilities to control and deploy AI on our own terms. The Dublin Declaration puts a shape on this by jointly committing signatories to building applied AI capability, with a focus on alignment, safety, security, resilience and sovereignty. Not only are these topics critical and topical, but they connect to fundamental objectives of the EU, such as ensuring prosperity, equity, freedom and security.

It commits to creating the technical capacity to test advanced AI, detect incidents and defend critical systems; to make AI safe so that European businesses and public institutions can embrace it and deploy it in good faith; to give European citizens and organisations greater control over their own data, knowledge assets and AI-enabled capabilities; and to build the compute, infrastructure and skills to make this vision real.

The remaining commitments make this a broader programme. AI infrastructure must be sustainable. Public procurement should create demand for trustworthy and interoperable European technology. International cooperation should turn shared principles into practical technologies that benefit not just Europeans, but everyone.

I believe the Dublin Declaration is formed around a practical vision for creating a counterbalance to the AI arms race by focusing investment on technologies that make AI safe and sovereign, not dangerous and extractive.

Dorothy Creaven (Jentic COO and co-founder) in discussion with Eoin Hinchy (CEO, Tines), Guillaume Princen (Anthropic) and Donal O'Shea (Diciphex) at the International AI Summit in Dublin, 14 October 2026.

Seeds of wider alignment

The Dublin AI Declaration also advances an emerging international alignment among many countries and blocs that are not home to the frontrunner AI labs.

The clearest precursor came from Finland and Norway. On September 21, they published A Call for Control of Frontier AI Models, backed by leaders from Australia, Canada, Ireland and countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The European Commission also endorsed it. The statement remains open and now has the backing of 29 countries, including 15 EU member states. It calls for mandatory testing before frontier models are deployed, independent evaluation, shared reporting of serious incidents, international verification and exploration of a new international institution to coordinate controls when dangerous capabilities emerge.

Other partnerships are turning the same broad position into industrial policy. In April, Canada and Finland agreed to cooperate on sovereign AI capacity, access to compute, responsible infrastructure and reduced strategic dependence. In September, Canada and Germany announced plans to invest in LawZero, supporting safe-by-design AI research and sovereign computing infrastructure. Finland and Singapore then issued a joint statement on cooperation in the age of AI, supporting common standards, resilient technology ecosystems and broadly accessible benefits.

This is a growing network of bilateral partnerships and aligned initiatives that seek to build allied AI capabilities that ensure the benefits of AI are shared across societies, rather than simply accruing to a handful of companies.

These allies don't need to build the world's best AI model. They need to harness it so it is safe, useful and subject to democratic control.

My op-ed in The Currency

A few weeks before the summit, I wrote an op-ed for The Currency expressing a similar vision: "Europe can regulate mad and bad AI. Now we must build the ability to make it safe". I'm pleased to see the declaration's first four priorities mirror the same argument I made: that Europe must move beyond rule-making and devote itself to building safe and sovereign applied AI capabilities and related infrastructure, so we can benefit from AI on our own terms.

The overlap extends to highlighting automated cyberdefence, realistic testing environments, open and interchangeable technology, European infrastructure, and public procurement based on safety and sovereignty. I also argued that it would make sense for Ireland to create an institute to help convene this work and coordinate between Europe and the international AI industry. I hope to see that happen.

My op-ed distilled vigorous discussions in Ireland's AI community and was shaped by feedback from some of the best AI minds in Ireland. My main contribution was to reframe anguish into what I consider a positive plan for action that aligns with core European values, in a way that is both urgent and achievable. If that op-ed in any way influenced the Dublin Declaration, it is wonderful evidence that despite EU bureaucracy, concerned citizens and experts can influence policy on a timeframe that matters.

Here is a summary of the vision I set out in that op-ed:

Keep the rules, but build the capability. AI alignment, safety and security are now urgent, but cannot be solved by more regulation. Nor can we count on superpowers locked in an arms race to prioritise safety. It is up to us to build the industry that makes it safe, and allows our businesses to deploy it and prosper. This will also build incredible intellectual capital within Europe, seeding new innovation and industry at a critical time.

Make applied AI our strength. We do not need to win the race to build the best model. We can lead by building the industry above the foundation-model layer: the applied AI industry. This is more capital-efficient and is aligned with our existing industrial strengths.

Treat sovereignty as practical control. Countries and organisations should be able to choose their intelligence suppliers, protect their data and knowledge from extraction, and avoid critical dependence on any single foreign platform.

Pool investment and infrastructure among trusted partners. Sovereignty is not about isolation. Shared compute, research and safety infrastructure can give countries capabilities they cannot build alone.

Use public procurement to create the market. Purchasing standards can turn public values into working technology and viable companies.

AI equity. This technology should strengthen democratic societies and distribute its benefits widely, rather than become a threat imposed from outside.

The government's announcement calls the Dublin AI Declaration a strong political signal. I think it is. So let us now fund it, procure it and build it.

At home, I know of two groups that are interested in creating a Dublin AI Safety Institute. If you know of others, let me know and I'll try to help connect everyone and do what I can to support it.