Project Liberty Institute Contributes to Responsible Data and AI Dialogue at the EU-UN-OECD Conference
On May 12, 2025, Project Liberty Institute’s Director of Policy, Innovation & Impact, Paul Fehlinger, joined international leaders at a special conference at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris on the occasion of the EU Day. Speaking on the opening panel with ambassadors from the EU and African Union as well as the OECD and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Fehlinger participated in important discussions about responsible approaches to data and AI investment. The event brought together government officials, investors, and innovation experts to explore how investment strategies can support responsible tech development.
Who was at the table?
This timely dialogue was a collaborative effort between three key organizations. The OECD, which sets global economic standards across its 38 member countries, partnered with the EU—known for groundbreaking tech regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation Act (GDPR), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the AI Act—and the UN B-Tech Project an OHCHR initiative focused on human rights in technology and business. The OHCHR contributed crucial insight into rights-based governance approaches. The event also focused on EU-Africa collaboration to scale responsible data and AI practices.
Spearheading Project Liberty Institute’s work at the intersection of governance, entrepreneurship, and capital, Fehlinger highlighted the critical role of both public actors and private market investors in building a sustainable and high-performing data and AI economy. To unlock a fair data economy, he argued, public-private collaboration should focus on infrastructure that supports democracy, improves market dynamics, and enables long-term value creation in the digital era.
“Both public institutions and private investors have critical roles to play in ensuring that we build a fair data economy that works for people and entrepreneurs alike.”
Paul Fehlinger, Director of Policy, Innovation & Impact,
Project Liberty Institute
“The decisions we make today about investment in data and AI and the role of next generation digital infrastructure will shape economic opportunities and the fabric of societies for decades to come,” Fehlinger noted during the discussion. “Both public institutions and private investors have critical roles to play in ensuring that we build a fair data economy that works for people and entrepreneurs alike.”
Spotlighting two major Project Liberty Institute initiatives
During the panel, Fehlinger highlighted two major Project Liberty Institute initiatives. First, he discussed the collaboration with VentureESG, which has already engaged over 50 major institutional limited partners (LPs) owning nearly $2 trillion in assets. Their groundbreaking survey revealed that while 75% of investors worry about data and AI risks, only 17% feel prepared to address these challenges. A key milestone of this partnership was the February 2025 release of their joint White Paper at the AI Action Summit’s Business Day. The initiative plans to expand its reach and impact in 2026.
Second, he spotlighted the Blueprint for Innovation and Growth from the Project Liberty Fair Data Economy Task Force, which was launched at the Novemebr 2025 Project Liberty Summit in Washington, DC, and lays out a strategic agenda for stakeholders, including public actors, entrepreneurs, technologists, and investors, in creating a vibrant data and AI economy powered by next generation digital infrastructure that optimizes for data agency.
Together, these initiatives articulate a vision for a rights-based, interoperable, and innovation-driven data and AI economy where people have a real voice, choice, and stake in shaping the digital future.