From “Is It Allowed?” to “Is It Defensible?”: EU and US Views on AI Data

Debates around artificial intelligence governance are increasingly focused on how companies and institutions interpret and apply data protection principles in practice. As definitions of personal data evolve and regulatory approaches diverge, the real question is no longer simply “Is it allowed?” but “Is it defensible?” This panel brings together in-house privacy thought leaders and AI governance and legal experts to explore how companies and institutions on both sides of the Atlantic decide whether data can be used to train AI systems, and what happens when those decisions are later challenged or revisited. EU teams often begin with personal data status, purpose limitation and data subject rights. U.S. teams frequently start with reasonableness, risk of harm and precedent. 

Using concrete scenarios, including HR data reuse, evolving purposes and assumptions about anonymization, the discussion will examine how these approaches diverge and why consistency, traceability and clear explanations are critical to maintaining customer trust.

What you will learn:

• How EU and U.S. teams apply decisions about using data for AI training.
• Where approaches diverge on personal data, purpose limitation and risk analysis.
• Why defensibility, documentation and explainability are essential for long-term trust and resilience.