GREAT Talk@ETSIT

Last Friday (March 6th), I had the pleasure to give a talk at Genuine Research Events @ Teleco at the ETS de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación of Univ. Politécnica de Madrid.

In my talk, I shared my perspective on the data economy —discussing both the challenges it raises and the exciting research opportunities it opens at the intersection of economics, computer science, and digital law.

For the first time, I also presented the results of three Theses I supervised on 2025, including new statistics on data markets and a paper we published. The estimulating discussion that followed explored questions such as:

• How European initiatives are positioning themselves in the evolving data economy.

• What societal transformations could arise from thriving data markets.

• How the new data economy may interact with traditional economic structures.

Many thanks to GREAT Talks for organizing such a valuable space for research dissemination and exchange. Looking forward to attending future talks and continuing to build future collaborations at the university research community!

Find a summary of the talk below.

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Title: «What Is the Data Economy, and Why Should I Care?«

Summary:

Even when their predictions differ, experts agree that AI and machine learning (AI/ML) are expected to have a profound impact on the economy, transforming many aspects of daily life and labor markets. Economists anticipate that this technology will serve as a key driver of economic growth in the coming decades and help address critical challenges such as climate change. And at the core of AI lies data.

However, due to the unique characteristics of data as an economic good—being freely replicable, non-depletable, and highly combinatorial with context-specific value—many valuable assets remain underutilized in corporate silos. Fortunately, an emerging ecosystem is beginning to unlock these resources.

In this talk, I will present findings from my research on understanding and measuring the data economy, including the pricing of data in the market and the business models of entities trading data online. I will highlight key market trends, and open challenges that represent interesting research opportunities at the intersection of economics, computer science, and digital law.

Post updated on 10/03/2026