European Union industry chief Thierry Breton, on Wednesday, said that Google’s parent company Alphabet and the European Commission plan to create an artificial intelligence (AI) pact calling for European and non-European companies ahead of rules to govern the technology.
Breton earlier met Google CEO, Sundar Pichai in Brussels. After the meeting, he released a statement saying, “Sundar and I agreed that we cannot afford to wait until AI regulation actually becomes applicable, and to work together with all AI developers to already develop an AI pact on a voluntary basis ahead of the legal deadline.”
He further urged the European Union countries and lawmakers to decide on the details of the Commission’s proposed AI rules before the end of the year. Both groups are yet to start negotiations to straighten out their differences.
As the concerns over fast-developing Artificial Intelligence’s ability to overturn the way the world functions are rapidly increasing, governments globally are racing to figure out ways to regulate its negative effects without forfeiting the advantages of the innovation.
EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager also met Pichai and highlighted the urgent need for the world to act together on finding out measures to rein in the adverse consequences of AI.
“We need the AI Act as soon as possible. But AI technology evolves at extreme speed. So we need voluntary agreement on universal rules for AI now,” she said in a tweet.
Good meeting w. @sundarpichai. We need the #AIAct as soon as possible. But AI technology evolves at extreme speed. So we need voluntary agreement on universal rules for #AI now. Already discussed at #G7 digital in Takakasi. We will follow up in the #TTC next week. No time to lose
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) May 24, 2023
She also said that the European Union and the United States plan to step up cooperation on artificial intelligence to establish minimum standards before legislation enters force.
OpenAI CEO testifies before US Congress, calls regulation of artificial intelligence ‘critical’
The chief executive of OpenAI, the startup which created ChatGPT, Sam Altman, addressed a panel of United States lawmakers, on Tuesday (May 16), and said that regulation of the “increasingly powerful models” of artificial intelligence is “critical” to mitigate the risks the technology poses. Altman also spoke about how the use of AI to interfere with election integrity is a “significant area of concern”.
“OpenAI was founded on the belief that artificial intelligence has the potential to improve nearly every aspect of our lives, but also that it creates serious risks,” said Altman while addressing a Senate judiciary subcommittee hearing.
This comes as many companies across the board from companies large and small have raced to bring increasingly sophisticated models of AI to market, which has raised concerns among critics and industry experts who have warned about how the technology can exacerbate societal harms, including factors like misinformation and prejudice.
ChatGPT services resume in Italy after OpenAI complies with regulators’ demands
Popular artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, which was banned in Italy over data privacy concerns in March, was made available to users again after the company ‘addressed, clarified’ issues raised by Italy’s data protection authority and complied with the demands of regulators.
“ChatGPT is available again for our users in Italy. We are delighted to welcome them back and remain committed to protecting their personal data,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also tweeted that he is excited about ChatGPT services resuming in Italy.
Italy’s data protection agency, Garante, had laid out a list of demands, and guidelines which it said ChatGPT maker OpenAI must meet by the end of April if it wanted its services to resume in the country.
“Only in this case…the authority will suspend the provisional restrictions on the use of the data of Italian users…and ChatGPT will once again become accessible in Italy,” it said.
Garante had accused ChatGPT of not showing ‘any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data’ to ‘train’ their chatbot.
It also condemned Open AI for failing to check the age of ChatGPT’s users who are supposed to be aged either 13 or above.
The company has now said that it will offer a tool to verify users’ ages in Italy upon sign-up and will also provide greater visibility of its privacy policy and user content opt-out form.
According to a company spokesperson, OpenAI will now also provide a new form for the European Union users to exercise their right to object to the use of their personal data to train the chatbot.
(With inputs from agencies)
