American Tech & Hollywood Bring AI Trust Message to Brussels
From left: Steven Soderbergh, Filmmaker; Dominique Shelton Leipzig, Founder, Digital Trust Summit; Nikki Hexum, Co-founder, RSL Media; Scott Mann, Filmmaker, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Flawless.; and Cate Blanchett, Actor, Producer & Co-founder, RSL Media.
US business leaders, filmmakers, European policymakers and civil society organisations gather in Brussels to discuss AI and Trust.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, June 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- American technology executives, Hollywood creators, European policymakers and civil society leaders gathered in Brussels on June 24 to argue that the future of artificial intelligence depends on greater trust, stronger governance and closer cooperation between Europe and the United States.
The Digital Trust Summit Brussels 2026, held at TheMerode, comes at a pivotal moment for AI governance. Days after G7 leaders placed artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and trusted data at the centre of their agenda, governments and businesses are confronting increasingly urgent questions about AI sovereignty, access to frontier models, cyber resilience and technological dependence.
Against that backdrop, participants at the Summit delivered a different message: that the answer to uncertainty is not fragmentation, but trust.
"The challenge before us is not whether Europe and America will compete. The challenge is whether we can continue to cooperate while we compete," said Dominique Shelton Leipzig, Founder of the Digital Trust Summit and CEO of Global Data Innovation. "Trust is not only what makes AI work inside organisations. Trust is what makes cooperation possible across borders. Innovation does not scale at the speed of technology. It scales at the speed of trust."
The Summit brought together Members of the European Parliament, senior European Commission representatives, Fortune 500 executives, cybersecurity leaders, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and civil society organisations to discuss how trusted AI can support innovation, economic growth and democratic values.
Participants included Academy Award-winning actress, producer and RSL Media co-founder Cate Blanchett; Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky; Members of the European Parliament Eva Maydell, Brando Benifei, Sergey Lagodinsky and Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová; senior European Commission officials including Despina Spanou and Renate Nikolay; and technology, governance and cybersecurity leaders from both sides of the Atlantic.
Business and technology participants included executives from Rubrik, Microsoft, Diligent, Collibra, Go Vocal, Dembrane, Fragomen, VIB, Convergent Computing and other organisations working at the forefront of AI governance, cybersecurity, digital trust, civic technology and responsible innovation.
"Some people have looked at recent debates about access to advanced AI systems and concluded that countries should pull apart. I believe that would be the wrong lesson," said Dominique Shelton Leipzig. "The lesson is not that we need less cooperation. The lesson is that we need more trust, more transparency, more accountability and more certainty. The future of AI will not be built by one company, one country or one continent acting alone."
Among the themes discussed were AI governance, cyber resilience, trusted data, copyright and creativity, board-level oversight of AI systems, and the growing need for practical frameworks that allow innovation and accountability to advance together.
As part of the Summit, participating organisations launched the Digital Trust Manifesto, a transatlantic commitment to human-centred AI, meaningful consent, creative rights, transparency and accountability.
Founding signatories include Global Data Innovation and Diligent from the United States; Go Vocal, Dembrane and Tectonica AI from Europe; and Association Civic Tech Europe. Together, the organisations represent leaders in governance, civic participation, artificial intelligence and digital trust whose platforms support governments, public institutions, businesses and more than 750,000 corporate leaders worldwide.
The Manifesto argues that "the successful deployment of AI will happen at the speed of trust" and calls for AI systems that protect human dignity, support creativity and maintain public confidence as adoption accelerates.
"Europe has shown the world the Brussels Effect," Shelton Leipzig said. "The opportunity now is to create a Trust Effect: proving that the organisations and societies that earn trust will be the ones that ultimately lead the AI economy."
About the Digital Trust Summit Brussels 2026
The Digital Trust Summit Brussels 2026 was co-organised by Global Data Innovation and NewFrames, in coordination with the Association of Civic Tech Europe (ACTE), with TheMerode as location sponsor.
Global Data Innovation advises organisations on trusted AI, cybersecurity, privacy and data governance.
NewFrames is a platform that brings together policymakers, business leaders and the creative industries to drive action on global challenges, using cinema as a tool of advocacy.
The Association of Civic Tech Europe (ACTE) is Europe's leading network of civic technology organisations, advancing democracy through digital innovation.
TheMerode is Brussels' private members' club, connecting leaders from business, government, entrepreneurship and culture.
Media contact: TrustSummit@globaldatainnovation
Sebastian Rodriguez
Global Data Innovation
+34 663 28 94 80
email us here
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