I sent a newsletter yesterday, I don’t want to send too many newsletters, but today we discuss about a new European media ecosystem at Le Grand Continent. And I thought it would be nice to have a place where to gather ideas from the community. I try to propose something here. But I ask you to share your thought in the comments section of a post that I just published for this purpose on my blog.
We are discussing about why Europe has not enough of its own platforms and for sure is not digitally independent.
What can be done?
There is a rich ecosystem of European initiatives and platforms that natively respect human rights and European laws — in areas such as work, information, entertainment, education, and more. These are small actors and receive less visibility than they deserve. A model of interoperability and quality assurance could be proposed to these European platforms, so that together they could form a more powerful system. Artificial intelligence for translation could be used to support the creation of a meta-platform made up of many connected and interoperable initiatives, which respect personal data and offer better services than the standard ones provided by foreign platforms — also because they are more in tune with local sensibilities and market structures.
Personal data can become a valuable resource for citizens, thanks to the GDPR and the right it grants to download all personal data from all platforms and store it in a wallet controlled by the individuals themselves. This wallet could become the foundation of a new digital identity system and, at the same time, a way to promote interoperability.
It is possible to design platforms that do things current ones do not. New artificial intelligences, trained with certified data and high-quality methods, can enrich the circulation and contextualization of news, enhance the quality of marketplaces, and support collaborative efforts for common projects. The new European platforms will not simply be improved versions of the American ones. They will offer services that American platforms do not — and that citizens will come to appreciate.
Maybe Europeans will not have a new giant platform, but they can have a giant number of new and better platforms.
An investment in public infrastructure to test and develop European platforms could be modeled after what is being done for artificial intelligence. It may require fewer resources — but could have a significant impact on the sense of possibility that Europeans are able to cultivate.
These may be just a few ideas among many. But one thing is certain: Europeans can have their own platforms, suited to their rules, aligned with their vision of freedom and rights. To deny this is a form of senseless self-censorship. To desire it is entirely legitimate. A real public-private cooperation can help start a process here.
Let me know what you think if you have time by commenting on my post.
Yesterday’s newsletter was: Alternative digital worlds