
Europe’s diversity is a great strength. The fragmentation of the continent, which is often still prevalent, on the other hand, is its greatest weakness. In times of digitalization, this becomes an immense burden. After all, what do the tech giants in the USA and China have in common? They have an almost inexhaustible reservoir of data simply due to their sheer size and the population of their home markets. And all this in a uniform legal, cultural and linguistic area. In a world with the "Internet of Everything", in which everything is connected, these advantages are amplified even further.
We discuss the use and potential of artificial intelligence a lot these days. With its AI strategy, the German government wants to pave the way for Germany and Europe to become world leaders. There is talk about digital infrastructures, research networks and the qualified employees for the AI age. The impression is often given that it is enough to master the algorithm if the development of artificial intelligence is to be successful. In reality, however, artificial intelligence stands and falls with the availability of high-quality data – and that is precisely what is currently lacking.
Hoarding data is not yet a business model
Data sets lie dormant in the silos of a wide variety of companies and organizations, we store them nationally and regionally, and we haven’t even sufficiently tapped into many of them yet. In Germany, for example, this applies to machine data. The crux of the matter is that no business models emerge from hoarding data. At the same time, many innovative business models on the old continent fall short of their potential because either the data is lacking or it is not available.
"In another talk in Tel Aviv, a former Google employee told us that he originally wanted to start his own business in California. However, he decided to establish his startup in China because there, for example, he has no difficulties getting data to feed his artificial intelligence. Therefore he has access to over 100 million patient records from the central health system. This would be unimaginable in the USA and impossible in Europe." from my book "Digitalism – The Utopia of a New Form of Society in Times of Digitalization".
Europe’s digital economy is repeatedly threatened by the fragmentation of the European map – instead of benefiting from its diversity. Cross-border and cross-sector open data pools, through which authorities, organizations and companies make their data available to each other, can be a way out. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we in Europe have given ourselves a clear set of rules and defined how we want to handle and protect data. But we have not agreed on guidelines on how data should become an integral part of our future value creation. As a result, we have established a set of rules for non-use, but none for use.

The EU Commission has recognized the need for European data pools with its digital strategy. However, there is a lack of concrete implementation of such plans, which are doomed to fail from the outset without the encouragement and trust of all those involved. The fact that sharing data and opening up data silos has not long been a matter of course at many companies is, in my view, also related to the widespread idea of data as the oil of the 21st century. But this image, no matter how often it is used, is misleading or even simply wrong. Data is not a finite resource; data is not being used up, let alone consumed. There is no shortage of data, but a shortage of access, of availability. Rather, data is the fertile soil for new business models. But the most fertile ground is still cordoned off or lying fallow in the EU. Data pools managed by data trustees can make the difference here.
Berlin, Brussels – go ahead!
Of course, mutual trust in each other and in this idea cannot be dictated. That’s why politicians should set a good example. After all, few other organizations have such extensive data as all our government agencies and offices, or their various state institutions and bodies. Public transport, water and energy companies could also make their data available to the public. The same applies to medical institutions or even public research institutes. Politicians have imposed an open-data policy on themselves, but there is a lack of consistency.

I am convinced that if we use all these data sets and succeed in breaking down the silos in companies and in people’s minds, we will be able to develop technological solutions that are relevant in the AI age. The idea that many people can create something together through cooperation that cannot be achieved by one person working alone is a deeply European one. It is one of the founding ideas of the EU. In the AI age, we should remember this. With combined forces and combined data, Europe’s Digital Economy can grow into a giant. If we all learn to trust each other and put opportunities at the center of our entrepreneurial and political actions – there is nothing to fear. So, let’s be giants!