The European Union and the United States said on Wednesday they would soon issue a voluntary code of conduct on artificial intelligence, hoping to develop common standards among democracies as China increasingly makes gains.
Both political and technology industry leaders are warning of growing risks as AI takes off, with potentially wide-ranging effects on privacy and other civil liberties.
After talks with EU officials in Sweden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that Western partners felt an “overwhelming urge” to act and urged “like-minded countries” to join the voluntary code of conduct. Will say for
“There is almost always a gap when new technologies emerge,” Blinken said, adding that it takes time for governments and institutions to figure out how to legislate or regulate.
European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager said a draft would be prepared “within weeks”.
“We think it’s really important that citizens see that democracy can deliver,” she said.
He hoped “to do it in as wide a circle as possible with my friends in Canada, in the UK, in Japan, in India”.
Sam Altman, whose firm OpenAI created the popular ChatGPT bot, attended the Council on Trade and Technology talks between the European Union and the United States, held this year in the northern Swedish city of Luleå.
The forum was founded in 2021 to try to reduce trade friction following Donald Trump’s turbulent US presidency, but has since shifted its focus largely to artificial intelligence.
In a joint statement released by the White House and the European Commission, the two sides called AI a “transformative technology with great promise for our people, offering opportunities to increase prosperity and equity.”
“But to seize the opportunities it presents, we must minimize its risks,” it said.
It added that experts from both sides will work on “cooperation on AI standards and tools for trusted AI and risk management”.
They also discussed how to work together on sixth generation mobile technology, an area in which Europeans have taken an early lead.
– China’s concern –
The European Union is moving forward on the world’s first rules on AI, which will ban biometric surveillance and ensure human control of the technologies, although the rules will not come into force until 2025 at the earliest.
China has also discussed regulations, but Western powers fear Beijing, with its growing power in the region and willingness to export to fellow authoritarian countries, could effectively set the global standard.
While concerns about China have grown in the European Union, the bloc as a whole has yet to take a stance as assertive as the US, with French President Emmanuel Macron recently announcing a new plan for the world’s second-largest economy. Leading business delegations.
But Blinken downplayed differences between US and European positions on China, saying that “neither of us is looking for a Cold War”.
“On the contrary, we all benefit from trade and investment with China, but unlike de-coupling, we are focusing on de-risking,” he said.
– Ai’s growing wonder –
The United States has made no serious efforts to rein in AI, despite growing calls for regulation by some in the tech industry.
Technology leaders including Altman warned in a joint statement on Tuesday that AI without regulation could put the world at risk.
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority, along with other societal-level risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” he wrote.
ChatGPT hit the headlines late last year after it demonstrated its ability to generate essays, poems and conversations through minimal input.
Hoping to demonstrate both the strengths and risks of AI, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivered a speech to parliament on Wednesday partly written by ChatGPT.
“Even if it didn’t always hit the nail on the head, both in terms of the government’s work schedule and the details of the punctuation … it’s both fascinating and terrifying what it’s been able to do,” she said .
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents major technology firms, in a statement welcomed the “loud, edgy transatlantic engagement” on AI at the meeting in Sweden.
But it reiterated its opposition to any EU tariffs or action against foreign tech companies.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP,