At the Panoramai AI Summit, Peter Friess, Senior Programme Officer at the European Commission and practicing artist, presented Europe's distinctive approach to AI governance in creative industries. Drawing on two decades of experience in European research policy and his dual perspective as both policymaker and creative practitioner, he outlined how the continent seeks to balance technological advancement with social cohesion.

The European Social Model

Friess positioned Europe's AI strategy as fundamentally different from US and Chinese approaches: « What remains in Europe is social cohesion and art ». He emphasized that European policy integrates creative and cultural considerations from the outset: « We have a ten-year program called Start Science Technology Art, also supported by Swiss artists », demonstrating institutional commitment to bridging technology and creativity.

AI Act Implementation Strategy

He outlined the EU AI Act's four-tier risk framework while acknowledging implementation complexities: « Basically, there are four levels of security. There is a level where everything is forbidden. There is a level where you must not declare or announce that you have used the AI ». Friess noted the shift toward supporting innovation: « At the moment, I believe that politics is about being stronger on the action plan... we have to make sure that it doesn't prevent innovation ».

Continental Collaboration

Friess highlighted renewed Swiss-EU cooperation: « What is interesting, since this year, there is again a cooperation agreement between the Union and Switzerland. So everything that concerns the great search for innovation, it will be the continent with Switzerland included ». This partnership extends European AI initiatives beyond EU borders, creating a broader innovation ecosystem.

Action Plan Beyond Regulation

Beyond legislative frameworks, Friess described comprehensive support mechanisms: « The Commission published an action plan in April that covers a bit of everything. Ethical use, education, support in research, market conversion, as well as creative and cultural industries ». He emphasized practical implementation: « AI Factory is really AI for the people. So, finally, we can do things, we can make European models, no problem ».

Creative Industry Integration

Addressing concerns about technological displacement, Friess advocated for proactive creative engagement: « Maybe human creativity, even in production companies... there are other functions that need to be done ». He stressed the importance of artists embracing technological collaboration: « I think today the difficulty is, as a contemporary artist, you still have to mix a little with technology ».

Digital Sovereignty Response

When challenged about European digital dependency, Friess outlined existing initiatives while acknowledging limitations: « Just for the big AIs and for the social networks, for now, it's more on the American side ». However, he pointed to European alternatives and support systems: « We see a lot of AIs in manufacturing, who will be world leaders, that's for sure ».

Five-Year Vision

Friess presented an optimistic but realistic outlook: « My vision is that the AI will act as the internet does today, as photography does. There will be changes. We will have AIs in many cases ». His key concern focused on creative integration: « If we don't integrate the creative aspect and the arts more, it will be a shame. So we really have to put the aspect on it, that in fact it's not the technology, but what we do with it ».

Key Achievement: Peter demonstrated how European AI policy can maintain competitive innovation while preserving social values and creative industries, providing a framework for balanced technological development that prioritizes human-centered applications and continental collaboration over pure efficiency metrics.