
Afek Shamir is an Analyst at RAND Europe, working with the Center on AI, Security, and Technology and the Frontiers of Technology hub. His research focuses on Europe’s role in frontier AI development and governance, with particular interest in the continent’s geopolitical positioning and leverage vis-a-vis other leading AI powers. Prior to RAND, Afek worked at a Brussels-based think tank on the EU AI Act’s governance of general-purpose AI as a Talos fellow and interned at the Tony Blair Institute. Afek holds an M.Sc. in European and International Public Policy from the London School of Economics.
US restrictions on frontier AI would have come eventually, but few expected sudden export controls. They could be Europe's wake-up call on AI sovereignty.