On January 24, GSMA Europe hosted a Mobile Meetings Series discussion on the mobile industry’s perspective on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The event explored, in particular, the extent to which the European Union’s strategy on AI addresses not only the mobile industry’s interests, objectives and concerns but also whether it is sufficient to stay ahead of international competition. This blog provides an overview of the main issues raised during the debate carried out under the Chatham House rule.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reinventing industries and experiences for consumers and business customers in all sectors. The telecommunications sector is one of the industries that will be dramatically transformed, as the combination of AI, 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) will create an environment of ‘Intelligent Connectivity.’ This will power the emergence of new devices able to meet users’ needs by applying AI-driven algorithms to anticipate and determine users’ intent, as well as new services from operations and network planning to customer solutions.
The number of potential applications has triggered significant investments in research & development by large technology companies. The global competition on AI, however, is currently led by the US, with China aiming to lead the market by 2030. Participants agreed on Europe’s strengths as regards the development of AI: leading research labs, strong industrial sectors, and a Digital Single Market based on common rules and providing companies with the clarity needed to do business, scale up across borders and encourage investments. To keep up with international competition, participants discussed, among other things, the need for additional investments and AI scientists, as well as the need to encourage and support SME’s to embrace AI technologies.
In its 2018 Communication ‘Artificial Intelligence for Europe,’ the European Commission (EC) laid down a European approach towards AI. The EU strategy promotes a human-centric and values-based approach to AI with the ambition that this ethical approach will become Europe’s edge in the global race for AI leadership. In this respect the group extensively discussed the draft Ethics Guidelines, published by the EC’s High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG), and which the GSMA has recently endorsed. Participants agreed that a value-based framework is essential for consumers to trust and use the technology. Others however, stressed that the guidelines bear the risk of deterring investors. Finally, participants argued that for the guidelines to be useful for product development or engineering staff, they should provide more technical details and specificity.
AI, combined with 5G and IoT, are the core future technologies for the European industry. Data being the fuel required to develop AI, the availability of large amounts of high quality data was a returning issue throughout the discussion. Some participants wondered whether European industry can gather sufficient amounts of data to develop AI to its full potential. It was noted that not all AI applications require the extraction of large amounts of data, because some AI applications are able to simulate or generate the data needed themselves. The participants consequently explored ways for the industry to make data available, including the introduction of contractual provisions in private contracts, rules facilitating data sharing while recognizing the value of data, and the development of sectoral data sharing platforms.
Participants finally discussed the extent to which the EU legal framework addresses the needs of the mobile industry. In their efforts to regulate AI, participants agreed that the EC should focus on the use and further development of existing legislation, rather than the introduction of new legislative measures. In the adoption of new guidelines and soft law, the EU should provide the industry with more clarity on the implementation and practical implications of the measures. Furthermore, participants believe European and national legislators should involve innovators from industry, as well as Member States in the drafting of any new rules. As an example of the EC-member state collaboration participants support, they pointed to the coordinated plan on AI called ‘Made in Europe ’ launched in December 2018.
Participants concluded that Europe’s success stories about AI development currently do not receive much attention. The EU should therefore showcase successful outcomes and leverage the diversity. Key actors, including EU institutions, Member States and industry should collaborate and align their interests to develop a flourishing AI ecosystem. Only then, will the EU be able to realize its ambition to become globally competitive based on a trustworthy AI strategy.
Hosted in our offices, the Mobile Meetings Series are small scale – but big scope – invitation only events for the Brussels public policy audience. Join us for a different take on the main issues affecting the mobile communications industry and its place in Europe’s information society.