AI took centre stage at Davos, although European operators continued to ask the EC to reconsider competition policies
Concerns swirl with discussions on AI adoption and intellectual property violations
In the Swiss town of Davos, government officials, industry leaders and celebrities converged for the annual World Economic Forum. Similarly to CES, this year’s discussions at Davos were dominated by AI and the role it plays in reshaping almost everything. The panel sessions provided a crucial snapshot of the current state of AI and the promises and challenges it presents. Among the creative industries, the importance of global inclusivity was highlighted, as those without sufficient computing power will be left behind in the AI revolution and unable to contribute to a diverse community. There was intensified discussion of the impact of AI on intellectual property. This ranged from artists being able to monitor and monetise videos utilising their material to journalists suing OpenAI due to IP violations during the training of language models. The growing number of lawsuits against AI firms has led to contemplation of whether licensing deals would be a solution for these legal cases as means of fair compensation. This is still yet to be seen with the US and UK governments contemplating how best to implement legislation surrounding this issue.
Trust and partnership with AI became the theme of discussion
On a panel discussing the future of AI sat the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, alongside the CEOs of tech and pharma companies including Sam Altman (CEO, OpenAI). Hunt boasted of the UK’s position to lead the tech sector and how, given the emerging state of the technology, the government is cautious in implementing regulation so as not to stifle innovation. The panel was in agreement that those building AI should have a collaborative and healthy partnership with moderating organisations. This is inline with the theme of trust which also has to be built between tech companies and users with the increasing use of AI in organisations. The surge in misinformation generated by AI has potential to cause hesitation in uptake. Altman responded by accepting that nervousness was expected and that decisions on what ‘safe enough’ entails may vary between stakeholders.
Deregulation and a favourable approach to market concentration were the asks from the telecoms industry
With deals pending in Spain, Italy and the UK, the EU's approach to regulating competition in telecoms markets was a focus for European operators present. With the high costs of ambitious network development targets continuing to weigh and alternate revenue streams such as the ‘fair share’ initiative seeming to have lost momentum, conversation focused on the central issues of market structure. Despite not having a deal pending, Sigve Brekke (CEO, Telenor) advocated for the EC to reconsider its approach to consolidation given the level of market fragmentation at present. José María Álvarez-Pallete (CEO, Telefonica) echoed these sentiments in seeking a European competition regime that can foster innovation for the telecoms market which can better compete with Asia and the US. He pointed out that Europe lags behind these markets and stressed the urgency for it to redefine its goals in the coming decade. More broadly, he advocated for deregulation of the sector, pointing out that telecoms operators are being “regulated with analogic rules from the last century”.
