The rise of artificial intelligence and its increasing presence in our daily lives has sparked many debates.
Among these, the problem of governance has emerged as one of the most pressing problems of our time; Brussels is at the forefront of the race to regulate artificial intelligence with its flagship Artificial Intelligence Law.
But regulation does not come without its own obstacles, and the solutions will surely determine the future of technology and European citizens.
At this year’s International Artificial Intelligence Summit, organized by Euronews in Brussels on 8 November, euroviews spoke Jeremy RollisonHead of EU Policy and European Government Affairs at Microsoft Europe on the many questions around European and global regulatory cooperation and what this will mean in practice.
Euroviews: At the Brussels Technology Forum in 2018, you named artificial intelligence as one of the two new technologies that will have the biggest impact on people and their relationship with technology. How much longer will it take?
Jeremy Rollison: At Microsoft, we have been working on artificial intelligence for decades. It’s already built into many of our products and our customers use it every day.
But this year, we have seen AI accelerate and become mainstream more than ever before with the emergence of large language models and generative AI. Technology is expanding human capabilities and changing everything about the way we live, work and learn.
We see AI helping research new medicines, finding solutions to decarbonize energy grids, and improving cybersecurity.
We also see that technology drives economic growth by supporting the development of new products and services.
So we see AI playing a really important role in helping solve some of society’s most pressing problems.
Euroviews: You often have the opportunity to talk to decision-makers about the various challenges they face in regulating AI. Can you share with us some important conclusions about what can and should be done to ensure future regulations, especially in the EU?
Jeremy Rollison: There is a balance to be struck between supporting Europe’s ability to innovate and ensuring that Europeans’ rights and values are protected.
Legislation is needed to establish balance. As AI technology continues to rapidly evolve, ongoing dialogue between companies, governments, businesses, civil society and academia is important.
AI governance frameworks need to move in tandem with technological innovation, and for this to happen we need diverse voices around the table.
This way we minimize risks and maximize opportunities, allowing people to use technology safely and providing benefits for society as a whole.
Ultimately, this is about encouraging responsible innovation of a technology that we believe will lead to huge economic growth in Europe and beyond.
Euroviews: There has been a lot of talk about future-proofing. Can we really look that far ahead?
Jeremy Rollison: We must definitely look ahead. The EU has ambitious plans; Take, for example, the Digital Decade targets and the European Green Deal.
Artificial intelligence will play a key role in enabling this transformation, including accelerating the deployment of sustainability solutions and developing new ones faster, cheaper and better.
A great example of this is Belgian startup BeeOdiversity, which has developed an AI-based system that farmers use to measure environmental impact and better preserve biodiversity.
The important thing is to ensure that frameworks are in place to address potential risks that arise. The pace of innovation is moving so fast that we need security measures built into AI systems by design.
We also need frameworks that will enable us to respond quickly to emerging challenges, while also enabling the AI ecosystem to thrive and enable companies in Europe to adopt the technology at scale.
Euroviews: In the past, you have advocated for Data for All, especially in the context of artificial intelligence development, by making data available to everyone, not just a few, whether governments or companies. How important is this access to data for AI and why?
Jeremy Rollison: Data has an important role in advancing AI technology responsibly.
The value an organization gets from AI is largely determined by the quality of its data and how well its data is managed. Data powers algorithms and allows them to learn and make predictions.
Responsible data policies and practices for both input and output of AI models and applications enable leveraging AI while maintaining user privacy protection, security, and safety.
The growth of artificial intelligence makes access to data and large language models more critical than ever. AI models can perform a wide range of tasks using natural language, from creating the first draft of a presentation to writing computer code.
Additionally, AI’s ability to process large data sets and provide insights could be vital in addressing key societal challenges, for example, accelerating progress on climate action.
Artificial intelligence technologies can be used to analyze energy consumption patterns and optimize the use of renewable energy sources or to assist in the efficient management of natural resources and recommend conservation strategies.
Euroviews: What could be ways to alleviate the concerns of legislators, as well as citizens, when they hear the words “free access to data”? What can be done to ensure that personal data is safe and remains private?
Jeremy Rollison: People will only use technology they trust. We believe that customers’ data belongs solely to them.
Data processed by AI products is also subject to the GDPR, as well as our customer commitments regarding data privacy and security, which often exceed strong data privacy laws in the EU.
Organizations large and small are using AI solutions because they can more easily achieve more at scale with the appropriate enterprise level and responsible AI protections.
Customers can trust that the AI applications they deploy on our platforms meet legal and regulatory requirements for responsible AI and that we keep their data safe.
Our mission is to empower our customers to achieve more and enable them to realize their own innovations. Their success is our success.