Eric Schmidt warns of Russian attacks on NATO states

Munich. Former Google boss Eric Schmidt expects a Russian attack on a NATO country in the medium to long term. “The stronger Russia becomes, the more likely it is that it will at some point choose a target in a NATO country,” said Schmidt at the Munich founders conference “Bits & Pretzels”. There he spoke to Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes. The Baltic states are most likely to be hit by a Russian attack, said Schmidt, who has been CEO and head of the board of directors of the rocket company Relativity Space since 2025.

“I am very, very worried about Europe,” said Schmidt. The war in Ukraine is driving military innovation on both sides at an unprecedented pace: “A new technology on the Russian side is imitated in Ukraine within three months – and vice versa.” Russia's pace in this development has recently increased.

Schmidt described Europe's armies as “very small compared to what is actually needed.” He expressly welcomed the decision by European countries to increase their defense spending: “Germany in particular is doing an excellent job.”

In addition to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Schmidt also spoke about the importance of artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had previously warned that AI could one day kill up to a billion people. Schmidt replied that such statements were too imprecise: Anyone who puts forward such a thesis must explain how exactly this is supposed to happen. Although the technology is “enormously powerful”, behind every action of an AI system there has always been a person who triggered it.

Schmidt rejects a stop to the development of AI. A slowdown would have to be global for it to be effective. This would first require a contract between the USA and China, the two leading AI powers. But according to him, even that is not enough: the European states would also have to come to an agreement, and there would also be a need for a body that monitors compliance worldwide. It is precisely this control that usually fails in practice.

He promoted the use of AI in development and production in Germany: In the future, designs could be created within a day, manufactured using 3D printing and tested immediately. He also advocated for each European country to have its own “sovereign” AI language models, since US systems do not automatically reflect European values ​​and historical interpretations. He cited the start-up Mistral as an example of a European AI company.