Shaping Europe’s digital model

In the last few years, the EU has made strides in setting a comprehensive regulatory framework to curb the power of Big Tech. When efficiently enforced, these ground-breaking rules will establish a new constitution for the digital age, one that is fair, transparent, and accountable to all.

However, significant challenges remain from the rapid rise of opaque machine learning applications in the workplace and digital surveillance, to the dependence on big tech platforms that abuse their market power and operate at odds with the values of democracy and solidarity, and questions around fundamental rights and data sovereignty. 

• Can we be sure that the coming wave of new uses of Artificial Intelligence will benefit citizens and workers? 

In this conference, we discussed various relevant and crucial topics.

• How to break out of a world of work where technology is further exacerbating power imbalances between workers and employers?
• How can we curb the monopoly power of Big Tech firms that turn the work and data of millions of creators and citizens into privately controlled AI services?
• How can long-term public investment and green and digital industrial strategies help align digital transformation with progressive values, democracy and social justice?
• How to grow pan-European public digital infrastructures and services?

The EU can be the engine of a cooperative global effort to advance human-centred technology, as well as knowledge and applications designed to tackle society’s biggest challenges. The aim of this conference was thus to discuss how to shape this ambitious agenda, built based on the needed alliances – across political boundaries, as well as with civil society and the labour movement – and how to turn it into reality. 

The future of EU digital policy should go beyond regulation and shift towards capitalising on the EU’s potential for scientific, technological, and industrial innovation. It must show leadership and put forward a bold vision rooted in the public interest. It is time to face this task with an ambitious and holistic strategy. 

For more information, please contact Euléane Omez, Project Management coordinator, at euleane.omez@feps-europe.eu

Read Francesca Bria’s article on this topic Towards ‘Sovereign AI: Europe´s greatest challenge?‘ in Euractiv.

On the same topic, read John Thornhill‘s article ‘Europe should worry less and learn to love AI‘ which he wrote a few days after the event.