A levy for AI in Europe?

Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral, proposes a levy for AI giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Alibaba that sell their services in Europe. The proceeds from this levy would be allocated to the European cultural sector.

According to Mensch, this levy would benefit both AI model providers, granting them legal certainty, and content creators, whose material is used for model training. Companies that train their models on large amounts of text, audio, and video data have faced legal challenges from creators and copyright holders.

Mensch emphasizes that European AI model developers are at a disadvantage compared to their US and Chinese counterparts, who operate in more permissive legal environments regarding copyright. The current European regulations, according to Mensch, do not adequately protect creators.

Mistral's proposal involves a revenue-based levy, applied to all AI model providers operating in Europe, including those based outside the continent. The funds collected would be invested in creating new content and supporting European cultural sectors. In return, AI developers would gain the legal certainty they need.

The levy would shield AI providers from liability for training on materials accessible online, without replacing licensing agreements or freedom of contract. On the contrary, licensing opportunities should continue to develop and expand for uses other than training. Mensch's proposal suggests a contribution between one and five percent of the revenues of AI model providers in Europe.

The current EU rules allow AI companies to use copyrighted materials for text and data mining, including AI training, unless the creator has "reserved their rights." The EU is considering a permanent solution to protect copyright from use by AI.