Could be very bad news for Open Source…
Hmmnn complicated, this. ‘Generative AI’ aka large language models tech is already pretty problematic as ‘open source’, since you have to be hugely funded to be a core player (bcos the amounts of computation required are ‘eyewatering’). The corporations have pretty much established their platforms (like GPT) as ‘obligatory passage points’ for any other player, large or small, commercial or academic. And their standards and procedures for validating content or assessing bias (gender, racial, etc) are pretty unreliable and demonstrably exploitative of precarious labour in, eg, Africa.
‘Open source’ has ceased to be a simple rally call. This was clearly signalled a couple years back, when Microsoft bought gitHub. So, in the highly politicised field of massive data crunching tech, with powerful social impacts (as demonstrated by the uptake of ChatGPT), it’s not unreasonable for EU governments to try to limit the impact of US mega corporations on infrastructures for European (fake) ‘news’ and ‘information’ provision and online search.
Whether the proposed regulatory machinery to do this is reasonable, I don’t know. The Technomancers author is probably pretty anti-regulation. But possibly European security agencies are also playing political games, and wishing to control some of these channels? Phew. Some kinda nightmare. I admit, I’m confused.