New poll data reveals that 89 percent of respondents say access to public web data is critical for ensuring a fair and competitive AI market.
The survey carried out at this year’s OxyCon web intelligence event shows organizations are getting worried they are losing access to precious web data, robbing them of the ability to make the AI of the future as democratic as possible. 64 percent of respondents say their organisations has been blocked from more websites than a year ago.
“Walls are going up across the open web, and AI teams are among the first to feel it. While many restrictions are primarily being put in place to safeguard content from AI companies, closing off the web will equally affect everyone in need of public data — from traditional businesses, to the public sector, and everyday users,” says Julius Černiauskas, CEO at Oxylabs.
The poll also finds that 57 percent of respondents report that public web-scraped data remains their main source for training AI models. 75 percent agree that advances in anti-blocking technology are essential to keeping web data collection viable over the next five years.
In OxyCon’s legal panel speakers highlighted the irony of some data-scraping companies using the legal frameworks to prevent others from accessing their public data. The panel’s consensus emphasized that the industry needs balanced regulation that both safeguards creators and sustains open innovation.
“We need to protect the spirit of the internet and allow public data to stay public,” adds Černiauskas. “Ethical AI depends on open, lawful, and transparent access to information.”
All this underlines that open data remains a cornerstone of responsible AI innovation. This year’s event explored how AI is transforming web scraping and vice versa.
The conference sessions are available to watch on demand at the OxyCon website.
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