Regulating the tech sector in the AI era

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder with a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other? Introducing Odoo, the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all-in-one, fully integrated platform that makes your work easier, from CRM, accounting, inventory, e-commerce, and more. And the best part, Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. This is why over thousands of businesses have made the switch. So why not you?

Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's odoo.com.

SPEAKER_2 (0:30)

Hi, I'm Molly Graham, host of Worklife, a podcast from TED. The most important lessons about work usually aren't the ones anyone teaches you. They come from experience, from uncertainty, from figuring things out as you go.

On this show, my expert guest and I explore how careers really unfold. Through change, through doubt, through the decisions that shape who we become over time. Because those moments aren't the exception, they are the work. Listen to Worklife wherever you get your podcasts.

Megan McCarty-Corino (1:04)

The hot new AI thing, but not for Europe. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Megan McCarty-Corino.

Europe may have weeks of paid vacation, quaint walkable cities, and incredible affordable local wines, but there's something that continent lacks besides ice cubes and AC. I'm talking about shiny new big tech products. Take Apple's revamped Siri, Meta's Muse, or OpenAI's competing AI assistant, Dots. They've all launched in the US and in some cases other markets, but largely not the EU, which has a network of tech regulations targeting data protection, interoperability, and AI.

Here to explain is Max von Thun, Director of the antitrust think tank, Open Markets Institute Europe.

Max von Thun (2:03)

You know, if you think of how we think about vaccines, right, we would always want to be sure that these things have actually been tested for safety before they're released onto the market. And so I think the approach that Europe is taking more so is to take the approach that we take in other industries, which is to say, okay, if you want to release this new product, whether it's an AI agent or a new social media platform, you know, you have to comply with these basic standards on things like privacy, on things like safety. And I would say that's a pretty reasonable trade-off to make. You know, the companies always start by saying, we don't know when we're going to release this, we might never release it. And then usually a couple of months later, you see it being released, often with some new features for consumers that actually I would say sort of make them safer.

So yeah, I think it's a reasonable trade-off, but some might disagree.

Megan McCarty-Corino (2:50)

How much do you think that these sort of feature delays represent genuine difficulty with compliance?

Max von Thun (2:57)

It is a mixture of things. I think part of it is a negotiating tactic by the companies because they face more regulation in Europe these days. And like any business, they're not particularly happy with having to comply with new rules that might reduce some of their profits. And just to give you one example, Apple recently introduced live translation to AirPods, and that was one of the products that they delayed in Europe. And then I think about three months later, they released it, but it included some new features on interoperability, which is a kind of technical term, but basically means that you can use that feature with other devices that you have that are not only Apple, right? So as a consumer, you have these new rights that you don't have in the US.

Megan McCarty-Corino (3:40)

Do you have a sense of what public opinion looks like here? It looks like there's a lot of public support for heavy tech regulation.

Max von Thun (3:48)

Yes, I would agree with that. And that is also my understanding of where the data is. Like Americans, a lot of Europeans are concerned about the impact that technology, especially new AI technologies, are having on their lives, on their kids, on democracy, on society. And so I think they generally very much strongly support the existence of these rules. And there's been specific data showing that in response to the attacks from the Trump administration on EU tech regulation, which have been quite intense over the past year or two, there's a lot of public support for Europe to kind of hold firm and keep enforcing these things.

Megan McCarty-Corino (4:27)

So big tech companies in the US have been quite unhappy with this regulation. But I wonder how this has affected European tech companies, because part of the aim of this regime is to kind of open up competition, right?