In an open letter compiled by Meta, executives from more than two dozen companies said AI could boost productivity and boost the economy, but Europe could reap less rewards than other jurisdictions. is

“Europe has become less competitive and less innovative than other regions and is now at risk of falling further behind in the AI ​​era because of inconsistent regulatory decision-making,” the letter said.

The letter calls on the EU to harmonize its laws and refer signatories to the bloc’s latest interpretation of data protection law.

Other signatories include Swedish telecommunications equipment company Ericsson, German software company SAP and German industrial group Thyssenkrupp along with researchers and representatives of civil society and trade groups.

The letter comes as Meta and Apple said new AI features they are rolling out elsewhere won’t initially be available in Europe because of the bloc’s regulations.

Apple said in June that it would likely not introduce its new AI system, called Apple Intelligence, to European iPhone users this year because of what it said was a new digital competition law. There was uncertainty created.

Apple said at the time that requirements that big tech companies make it easier for rival services to run on their operating systems “could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that harm user privacy and data protection.” may pose a security risk,” Apple said at the time.

Meta said separately in July that it would not release a multimodal AI model in the EU in the near future due to what it called the “unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment”. Europe plans to train its AI models using data from public posts by adults on Facebook and Instagram after Ireland’s data protection authority raised concerns.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, has said all companies are welcome to offer their services in Europe if they comply with the bloc’s rules.

The EU has developed a reputation as a leading global regulator whose laws often have global impact. The bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation, which aims to protect personal data, has spread globally and become a template for some countries.

Recent EU legislation on digital competition, online content and AI has since been introduced, prompting some of the world’s biggest tech companies to change the way they operate in the bloc.

Lawmakers and officials say the EU regulations are important to challenge the monopolistic behavior of big tech companies, prevent the spread of misinformation and offensive content online, and protect children online.

But the rules have also prompted complaints from some companies and industry groups, who say they are burdensome to implement and harm Europe.

It’s not unusual for companies to hold back the rollout of new products and features in territories outside of the US.

The Google AI chatbot Bard, since renamed Gemini, has expanded to Block, with the US and UK Bard’s European release delayed a few months after its initial launch, in part, Through a request to the Data Protection Authority of Ireland for additional privacy features.

Meta released its Threads social media platform in the European Union last year, months after it first launched in the US.

The EU, with around 450 million users, is one of the largest and richest markets in the world, making it an important source of revenue for major tech companies.

The letter, published on Thursday, said EU regulations could mean European organizations have worse access to open AI models, which can be downloaded and adjusted. Block could also miss out on new models that can combine text, images and speech, the letter said.

The letter pointed out that it had an inconsistent application of the bloc’s data protection regulations, which it said created uncertainty over the type of data used to train AI models. can be used.

“If companies and institutions are going to invest tens of billions of euros to build generative AI for European citizens, they need clear rules, which are consistently applied, and European enable the use of data.”

Write to Kim Mackrael at [email protected].