CEOs of Meta and Spotify: ‘complex legislation hinders AI innovation’

Europe is trying to make the most of open-source artificial intelligence (AI), but its legislation makes it hard for tech companies to develop AI technology that reaches its full potential.

“Its fragmented regulatory structure, riddled with inconsistent implementation, is hampering innovation and holding back developers. Instead of clear rules that inform and guide how companies do business across the continent, our industry faces overlapping regulations and inconsistent guidance on how to comply with them,” Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Meta, and Daniel Ek, founder and CEO of Spotify, said in a joint statement.

The captains of the industry truly believe that AI technology can change the world for the better by creating economic opportunity and security for everyone. One very important condition to achieve this goal is to make AI technology publicly available through open source. Only then we make sure the power isn’t concentrated among a few large and powerful players, thus creating a level playing field.

However, European legislation is making it nearly impossible for developers to benefit from open-source AI. Zuckerberg and Ek suggest that Brussels’ legislation is too focused on ‘theoretical harms’ and potential risks of AI technology.

Take the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). “This landmark directive was meant to harmonize the use and flow of data, but instead, EU privacy regulators are creating delays and uncertainty and are unable to agree among themselves on how the law should apply,” the CEOs claim. That’s why Meta is putting its plans for AI technology on hold in the EU.

Zuckerberg and Ek feel that the EU’s pre-emptive regulation is smothering innovation. “Without urgent changes, European businesses, academics, and others risk missing out on the next wave of technology investment and economic-growth opportunities.”

The solution is simple: Europe should adopt clearer policies and more consistent enforcement. “With the right regulatory environment, combined with the right ambition and some of the world’s top AI talent, the EU would have a real chance of leading the next generation of tech innovation,” Zuckerberg and Ek believe.

These CEOs recommend that Brussels make haste. “While we can all hope that with time, these laws become more refined, we also know that technology moves swiftly. On its current course, Europe will miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity. Because the one thing Europe doesn’t have unless it wants to risk falling further behind is time.”