Report from France 24
In Brief – Speaking at the AI Impact Summit in India, Michael Kratsios, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said that the US “totally” rejects global governance of artificial intelligence. Praising the shift in focus of international AI summits from “safety” to the technology’s broader impacts, he criticized forums such as the UN’s Global Dialogue on AI Governance, saying, “ideological, risk-focused obsessions, such as climate or equity, become excuses for bureaucratic management and centralization”. The skepticism of the US Administration stood in contrast to remarks from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who highlighted a new 40-member expert panel designed to make human control of AI a “technical reality,” likening it to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Kratsios’ message also contrasted with French President Emmanuel Macron, who referenced the EU’s landmark AI Act that will regulate AI in the EU, saying, “Europe is not blindly focused on regulation. Europe is a space for innovation and investment, but it is a safe space.”
Context – President Trump has pushed US AI policy firmly toward deregulation and investment, pitched AI leadership as a national imperative to compete with China, and rejected “Woke AI”, which in populist circles is certain to include input from “global” organizations. At last year’s version of this AI summit, which was in Paris, Macron called for Europe to recalibrate AI regulation and made the case that France, with its AI talent and electrical generating capacity, was well-positioned to lead the region forward. In the ensuing year, the European Commission came forward with a series of plans to speed up the use of AI in key industries and the public sector, as well as boost AI-driven research. However, despite top EU business and tech leaders calling on the Commission to slow the pace of AI Act implementation, the regime’s backers, including in the EU Parliament, support AI regulatory guardrails and the Commission has largely been sticking to the schedule. In the US, the Trump Administration is pushing back on state AI regulation.