Artificial Intelligence and the ‘Data Act’ in the European Union: A Legal and Economic Analysis of New Digital Regulations and Their Impact on Citizens’ Rights and Business Innovation

In the current context of the European Union, there is a marked interest in adapting to the digital era, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation and data management. The European Parliament has taken the initiative to formulate a regulatory framework for AI, seeking to protect intellectual property rights and encourage technological development. In parallel, the adoption of the Data Act represents a significant effort to ensure fair access to and use of data, marking a significant turning point in the creation of a data market that is fair to citizens and competitive in the global marketplace. This emerging regulatory environment poses challenges. On the one hand, the increasing autonomation in the creation of artistic content through AI presents dilemmas on how to effectively balance copyright with the promotion of innovation. On the other hand, the Data Act seeks to establish rules on data access and use across all economic sectors, which raises questions about how data security and privacy will be handled in this new framework. The training process carried out with Machine Learning (ML) models and their evolution through Large Language Models (LLM) interfaces based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems must be addressed in the interest of preserving rights and promoting competition. The role of the legislator in the protection of personal data within the EU Member States presents a challenge of an economic-competitive nature and may limit the development of state-of-the-art models, which could have an impact on the region’s competitiveness vis-à-vis other economic areas such as those around the United States or China. Upcoming regulatory developments in the EU, such as the implementation of the Data Act, should address these challenges, ensuring that both individuals and businesses have more robust control over their data. Interoperability and data portability are crucial in this context, underlining the need for safeguards against illicit data transfer. The academic debate is now at a point of vital importance, as it is likely to determine the granularity of the approaches needed for the EU to successfully implement these regulations, balancing the promotion of a fair and competitive digital marketplace with the protection of privacy and individual autonomy. These regulatory changes will influence Europe’s position in the global digital economy, determining how the ethical issues associated with the use of AI will be managed. The implications of these developments for the protection of rights, the promotion of innovation and the impact on the digital economy require in-depth and ongoing analysis. This is a challenging time for the academic community. Regulatory decisions will determine the framework for market action and will condition the EU’s competitiveness in the medium to long term.