The Battle for Data: Finding the Balance for AI Innovation

As artificial intelligence transforms economies and societies, the question of how to ensure responsible access to the data needed to train these new models has become one of the defining policy challenges of our time. How can Europe strike the right balance between fostering innovation and protecting the rights of creators? What lessons can we draw from different regulatory models around the world?

The Lisbon Council convened a High-Level Working Lunch on ‘The Battle for Data: An Economic Analysis of Law Across Different Regulatory Approaches to Text and Data Mining for AI Training,’ bringing together academics, policymakers and experts for an in-depth discussion of the European Union’s text and data mining framework. Professor Bartlomiej Biga, associate professor at the Krakow University of Economics, opened the discussion, comparing the European model with the national approaches of Germany, Poland and Italy as well as the lessons learned from the United States, Japan and Singapore, exploring the strengths, trade-offs and implications of each.

High-level participants also included Emmanuelle Du Chalard, head of unit, copyright, directorate-general for communications networks, content and technology, European Commission; Romane Ganille, tech and digital policy officer, Allied for Startups; Clotilde Hocquard, head of regulatory affairs, France Digitale; Yana Humen, senior manager, AI and cybersecurity policy, IBM; Marcin Olender, public policy director, AI Chamber; Marco Pancini, senior director and head of European Union affairs, Meta; Thomas Spiller, vice president, global public policy, Europe, Middle East and Africa, The Walt Disney Company; and Annika Talmar, counsellor for justice, Permanent Representation of Estonia to European Union.