The US and UK have snubbed a declaration on making AI “safe for all” as the leaders from around the world gather at a summit in Paris.
Both countries have yet to comment on their reasons, but JD Vance gave a fiery speech about excessive regulation of technology and also took the opportunity to make a side swipe at the Chinese contingent.
The US approach will come as no surprise as President Trump has gleefully reversed the AI Safety law set out by his predecessor and, with Project Stargate and his huddle of tech bros, is pursuing progress with no protections.
What’s in the Declaration?
The Guardian had eyes on a draft version of the declaration, which had 60 signatories today including France, Canada, India, Japan, Australia and, importantly, China.
It includes the statement that “the rapid development of AI technologies is driving a major paradigm shift with various implications for our citizens and societies.” This will require, it says, “an inclusive, open and multi-stakeholder approach” to create “ethical, safe, secure, trustworthy and human rights-based AI.”
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The statement also referenced AI in relation to human rights, linguistic diversity and gender equality, and it emphasized the importance of equality in access to this relatively nascent technology.
In addition, the signatories have agreed to “address the risks that AI could pose to the integrity of information and strengthen AI transparency.”
What Did JD Vance Say?
The US vice-president didn’t hold back when he took to the stage in Paris, and took the opportunity to shake his fists at everyone from EU regulators to the Chinese Government.
Echoing the words of his boss, he argued that “excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry.” He continued: “We need international regulatory regimes that foster the creation of AI technology rather than strangle it, and we need our European friends, in particular, to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation.”
He took aim at the Digital Services Act arguing that measures put in place to protect children online are being used to prevent adults from accessing information that their “government thinks is misinformation.”
He ended with a blatant jibe at the Chinese government, talking about how partnering with “authoritarian” regimes “never pays off in the long term.”
The UK remains tight-lipped about its decision and Prime Minister Keir Starmer wasn’t in attendance.
What Will Happen Now?
The summit has several hours to go and there can sometimes be signatures added after an event has closed. However, the decision not to sign by two major powers has already been met with dismay.
Dario Amodei, head of AI wunderkind, Anthropic, told Agence France Presse, that the summit had been a “missed opportunity.”
Anthropic, which has huge financial backing from Amazon, has been open in its support of AI safety measures, including a bill which the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, blocked as too sweeping.
Amodei urged that the next international summit be more ambitious and should look to ensure democratic nations control AI, that it should prepare for the potential safety threats that the technology could pose, and that delegates also need to pre-empt its social and economic disruption, according to Barrons.
However, there is no doubt that the agreement lacks some clout, with both the UK and US refusing to sign. The tech giants pushing AI development seem to have the president’s ear and are telling him that legislation will hurt innovation.
