Santander. The editor-president of DEMÓCRATA and founder and president of Vinces, David Córdova, participated this Tuesday in the 40th Meeting of Digital Economy and Telecommunications of AMETIC, where he addressed along with Miguel Escassi, director of Public Affairs of Google Spain and Portugal, the regulatory challenges posed by digital transformation and the role that Spain can play as a connection point between Europe and Latin America.
The conversation took place within the block "Spain, bridge between Europe and Latin America", one of the axes of the second day of the meeting that AMETIC celebrates in Santander. Córdova focused the debate on a question that increasingly conditions technological competitiveness: the impact that regulation has on business decisions, investment, and innovation.
The editor-president of this medium has argued that regulation has ceased to be a matter reserved for specialists to become a strategic issue within companies. "There is no management committee that does not include in its reflection how the regulatory framework in which it operates is affecting or contributing to us," he pointed out. In this regard, he highlighted its effects on competition, market barriers, stability for investment, and the development of innovation.
From there, Córdova led the conversation to what conditions must be met to build effective regulation in the face of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and identified three factors that can hinder that process: distrust among the involved actors, information and capacity asymmetry, and the "ideologization of the technician." On this last point, he warned of the risk of "prioritizing ideology over data".
In the face of these difficulties, Córdova has claimed as one of the Spanish strengths the specialized bodies of the Administration and the stability they provide in the face of political changes. He highlighted the knowledge and "memory" they maintain within ministries and regulatory bodies and pointed out that this experience can contribute to reducing information asymmetry and bringing regulatory decisions closer to the reality of increasingly complex technological sectors.
For its part, Escassi has responded that Google understands digital sovereignty as the capacity for decision-making and not as technological self-sufficiency. "Sovereignty is, above all, having sovereignty when it comes to deciding," he stated, citing decisions such as where to store data, how to protect it, with what technology and infrastructure to manage it, or the possibility of changing providers. Against a model based on producing all technological components within one's own borders, which he has considered "a bit absurd," he has defended "maximizing the number of options" and betting on those that offer greater quality and security.
Córdova has closed his intervention by focusing on three factors that can hinder the regulation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence: the distrust among the involved actors, the asymmetry of information and capabilities, and the "ideologization of the technician." On this last point, he warned of the risk of "prioritizing ideology over data".
In the face of these difficulties, the editor of DEMÓCRATA has claimed as one of the Spanish strengths the specialized bodies of the Administration and the stability they provide in the face of political changes. Córdova has highlighted their knowledge and their "memory" within ministries and regulatory bodies and has pointed out that this experience allows for reducing the asymmetry of information when designing public policies and regulating increasingly complex technological areas.