Concerns in Europe that privacy protection might not be an automatic right as artificial intelligence (AI) develops might not be unfounded, according to experts.

The European Union wants to bolster tech innovation within the single market as AI is predicted to catapult economic growth, but some legislators, legal experts, and privacy campaigners have expressed fears AI use—as well as definitions of “safe AI” in the planned AI Act—might conflict with the levels of automatic protection expected under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...