Several big-name companies and their CEOs signed onto an open letter which demands regulatory clarity, particularly on whether European data can be used to train AI models.
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“We hope European policymakers and regulators see what is at stake if there is no change of course,” the letter reads. “Europe can’t afford to miss out on the widespread benefits from responsibly built open AI technologies that will accelerate economic growth and unlock progress in scientific research.”
In the wake of the EU AI Act — the continent’s comprehensive regulation governing the use of AI technologies and their impact on citizen’s rights — companies have been confused as to the extent they can European-originated data to train their AI models and systems.
Meta has been at the forefront of this debate as it seeks to leverage user data from its social media apps like WhatsApp and Instagram to train its AI technologies, including its Llama line of models.
While the company implemented what it thought was a fix in the form of an opt-out in June, it shelved the plans just a month later as it sought further regulatory clarity.
In addition to the training plans, Meta stopped the rollout of AI models in European products and services, including multimodal AI systems like its Emu image generation model coming to its meta AI chatbot. The decision was to ensure compliance with what it claims are confusing rules, especially since Meta had previously been fined billions of Euros for violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The open letter, signed by companies including Pirelli, Photoroom, and ThyssenKrupp, claims the EU will lose out to the US and China with AI systems on the continent being “less competitive and less innovative.”
“Europe faces a choice that will impact the region for decades,” the letter reads. “It can choose to reassert the principle of harmonisation enshrined in regulatory frameworks like the GDPR and offer a modern interpretation of GDPR provisions that still respects its underlying values so that AI innovation happens here at the same scale and speed as elsewhere.
“Or, it can continue to reject progress, contradict the ambitions of the single market and watch as the rest of the world builds on technologies that Europeans will not have access to.”
Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist and a Turing Award winner, expressed support for the letter’s contents, calling for the EU to “harmonise regulation so that the region does not become a technological backwater.”
“The EU is well positioned to contribute to progress in AI and profit from its positive economic impact *if* regulations do not impair open research, model training, and responsible product deployment,” LeCun wrote on LinkedIn.
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