Faced with tensions surrounding content, the founder of Mistral AI proposes an "AI tax" to support creators.

In recent years, AI and the cultural industries have had a strained relationship. Indeed, generative AI models need enormous volumes of data to train, much of which comes from copyrighted content.

Faced with this dilemma, Mistral AI proposes establishing a mandatory financial contribution for AI companies in Europe to support creative work. In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, argues that Europe needs to find a clearer mechanism for managing the use of online content in training AI models.

A mandatory contribution for AI providers

Mistral AI's proposal is based on implementing a contribution based on the revenue of companies that market artificial intelligence models in Europe.

According to Audrey Herblin-Stoop, the startup's vice president of external affairs, this levy could be between 1% and 5% revenue generated.

The funds collected would be deposited into a dedicated European fund, whose mission would be to finance the creation of new content and support cultural industries. The idea is to establish a form of redistribution, in order to compensate for the massive use of data from cultural works in training AI systems.

For Arthur Mensch, this mechanism could also provide a form of legal certainty for companies in the sector. In exchange for this contribution, model developers could train their systems on freely accessible web content, without fear of copyright infringement.

An attempt to break the legal deadlock

Currently, the European framework relies largely on an opt-out mechanism, allowing rights holders to refuse to have their content used to train AI models. According to the head of Mistral AI, this system remains fragmented and difficult to enforce.

As a result, creators fear a loss of revenue, while technology companies operate in an uncertain regulatory environment. In this context, the contribution proposed by Mistral AI is intended as a first step to open a discussion with rights holders. However, the measure would also apply to foreign companies offering their models on the European market, in order to avoid a competitive imbalance. The objective is to ensure that American and Chinese players also contribute to the financing of creation when they operate in Europe. A debate reignited around copyright: The issue of using data to train AI models is already the subject of much criticism and litigation, both in the United States and in Europe. The European Union adopted AI legislation in 2024, which notably mandates respect for copyright. That said, the practical application of these rules remains unclear, particularly concerning the data used to train generative models. Mistral AI's proposal also comes at a delicate time for the startup. In recent weeks, the company has had to respond to accusations related to the use of copyrighted works, such as certain famous books, in training its models. With this mandatory contribution, Mistral AI hopes to revive the European debate around a funding model capable of reconciling technological innovation and the protection of cultural creation.