At TechBBQ in Copenhagen, discussions among investors, founders, and operators from across Europe centered not just on what to build with AI, but on who should hold the reins. Throughout the annual Nordic conference—from stage talks to cocktail hours and late-night gatherings—the recurring theme was how Europe could secure greater control over the technologies driving AI. This focus on sovereignty, which aligned neatly with the event's "Emerging from Agency" theme, gained extra urgency after Anthropic’s AI models Mythos and Fable became inaccessible to users outside Europe earlier this year. That disruption prompted many in the European ecosystem to seriously consider what it means to own the models and infrastructure behind this AI wave, rather than renting that capacity from the U.S. and China. One startup executive told me the Mythos and Fable outage significantly disrupted his software team, while another dismissed the impact. The first exec acknowledged that depending on two other geopolitical powers for AI might eventually cause Europe major difficulties, but for now, he said, things are largely fine.

“TechBBQ’s theme of agency felt particularly timely this year as the conversation shifted from what AI can do to what we’re actually willing to let it do,” said Ellen de Brever, an angel investor and head of partnerships at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Cellerator, during the conference, which wrapped up August 27. The event featured panels on the future of women’s health, a summit on Nordic-African collaboration in innovation and investment, and discussions about channeling more growth capital into Europe. AI wove through many of these conversations, but as de Brever observed, “the debates weren’t about smarter machines, but about human judgment and who gets to stay in the driver’s seat.” She added, “The age of AI agents isn’t really a story about machines gaining agency. It’s a story about humans deciding what to give up.”

One attendee noted that a standout session was the panel featuring Signal president Meredith Whittaker, which I moderated and which explored whether privacy and AI can coexist. Whittaker was blunt, criticizing the integration of AI assistants and agents into operating systems—such as ChatGPT’s work with iMessage. She argued that this AI era is building a “data collection apparatus” and that AI labs are using clever marketing to obscure “the collateral consequences” of amassing so much data. “There is still a huge market need for privacy,” she said. “And particularly with the sovereignty concerns, we will have customers here.”

Elsewhere, Emad Mostaque, co-founder of Stability AI and Intelligent Internet, joined me on a panel about how an agentic workforce might reshape the economy and what that means for personal sovereignty. “Sovereignty is the ability to resist power being exerted over you,” Mostaque said. He highlighted the concentration of power among a few AI labs and warned, “Inevitably, every country will be run by AI” and “the person that controls the AI controls the country.” After the session, Mia Negru, advocacy and engagement director for the nonprofit Life With Artificials, shared her reflections in a message: “If intelligent agents perform cognitive work and robots increasingly perform physical work, we may be approaching something much bigger than another technological revolution. We may have to rethink ownership, work, democracy, economic participation and eventually even who gets to participate in society.”

When the formal sessions wrapped, attendees unwound at happy hours and rooftop parties, where lighter conversations took center stage. Lovable, Nvidia, OpenAI, AWS Startups, and HSBC co-hosted a rooftop barbecue where I spoke with founders about Denmark’s expanding tech hubs. London’s Ada Ventures organized a gathering at the cocktail bar Bird, where I chatted with a health tech founder about growing innovation in women’s brain health. Then came the speakers’ dinner on an island in the middle of Copenhagen, where the international press sat together and watched fire dancers. The after-party continued upstairs, with many tempted to linger for one more drink until the bar tab closed. “In a room full of conversations about machines, the most memorable moments still come from the simplest thing,” de Brever said. “Human connection, face-to-face, building relationships, sharing ideas, and reminding each other of what technology can never quite replace.”