RAID 2021 unites a fragmented world in the Regulation of AI, Internet and Data
At RAID 2021 on 12th October, regulators and policymakers from Europe, the US and China united to debate the challenges and opportunities of the Regulation of Artificial intelligence, the Internet and Data (RAID).
40 speakers joined from the European Commission and Parliament, German Federal Ministry of Finance, US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, European Banking Authority, European Data Protection Board, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Internet Foundation, the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, the OECD, Bank for International Settlements and many national regulators and governments.
The overarching message of the online conference was that all regions of the world can benefit from the rapid pace of technological innovation, with closer coordination and alignment between different jurisdictions.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former Prime Minister, France and Chairman, Fondation Prospective et Innovation said: “Technology is moving faster than society and the law, hence the importance of intelligent regulation, which values the positive aspects of technological progress but provides a dynamic framework for it.
“It is up to each state to define its own priorities and to seek to apply them. But effectiveness depends on international collaboration and adapted forms of multilateralism.
“Our forum today is part of this desire to strengthen the spirit of collaboration between the major players in the regulation of the internet and artificial intelligence. Europeans, Americans and Chinese discuss the challenges they face, the opportunities they have, and the solutions they favour. These challenges and opportunities are largely the same and are shaping our century, but the responses and solutions differ.
“Our meeting allows us to better measure these differences and convergences so that, by better understanding them, we are able to act so that we can build together on our shared interests, to reduce the risks and draw the maximum benefits from this new revolution that is imposed on all.”
European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders said: “As it was true when John F Kennedy told the Democratic national conference in 1960, today we also find ourselves at the new frontier.
“The successful digital transition is a major European priority. At the same time, the transition carries a number of challenges.
“Europe aims at being at the forefront of a data driven society. We are also deeply committed to international data flows.
“As Kennedy said, the old ways will not do. As the agenda of today’s conference makes clear, there are many important questions around what the new ways should be. These are definitively some of the most pressing questions on the EU’s mind right now.
“I am glad to see an increasing number of countries are converging towards putting in place modern data protection regimes.
“As the G20 ministers underlined in the Trieste declaration, in a world that is often fragmented, this increasing convergence offers new opportunities to foster interoperability, harness the digital economy and better protect citizens’ data.
“The questions on today’s agenda are the right questions we need to be asking ourselves as we cross this new frontier.”
Wu Lebin, Chairman, Chinese Academy of Sciences Venture Capital Co. Ltd. (CASVC) said: “In the future, cloud computing will be included in critical national information infrastructure like energy sources. It will become more like the regulation of energy utilities that we all take for granted.
“The international community, including tech giants, have no doubt about the need of regulation; more and more they talk about the scope and the depth of regulation.
“This year, with the purpose of improving the protection capacity of data security, safeguarding national cybersecurity and the legitimate rights & interests of citizens, the Chinese government promulgated three laws and regulations: the Date Security Law, the Personal Information Protection Law and the Regulations on the Security Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure.
Lucilla Sioli, Director for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Industry, European Commission said: “It’s very important that there is an exchange of ideas at the international level on how tech regulation can shape our future.
“Lack of trust is an important barrier to the use of AI, when we want people and businesses to make use of the technology.
“It is time for us to work all together and exchange ideas on our programmes and on our efforts.”
Sean Heather, Senior Vice-President for Antitrust, U.S. Chamber of Commerce said: “It’s not a race to get the regulation out first. We will have changes in the US, but not as quickly as the rest of the world would like to see.
“Section 230 reform is going to happen at some point. Last week’s events at Facebook brought more pressure to do something, but the political support for doing that depends on whether you are on the Democratic or Republican side of the aisle.”
Filip Van Elsen, Partner, Global Co-Head of Technology, Allen & Overy said: “The challenges represented by AI and data privacy and security transcend national borders, and this is why global and regional collaboration in addressing these challenges is key.”
Matthew Astill, CEO, Cavendish Group said: “The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have turbocharged the rise and influence of technology and its developers. Harnessing the power of technology in an equitable manner has become a critical area of common interest for governments, industry and society, at a time when open, constructive dialogue between regions is under threat.
“The benefits of developing strong technology regulations together are far greater than the benefits of protectionism and unilateralism, which bring greater risks.
“We are very keen to meet again physically, and we have a provisional date for a 2022 physical RAID conference for 14-15 June, likely to be in either Brussels or Paris.”
