 "Why US, UK refused to sign Paris AI Summit declaration")
On Tuesday (February 11), the world’s eyes turned to Paris at the AI Summit being co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting that saw world leaders, tech titans and other big names from countries across the world come together to discuss all things AI (artificial intelligence) was meant to end with a joint declaration. However, the United States and the United Kingdom did not sign off on the final statement calling for an “inclusive” and “open” AI sector.
On the other hand, other governments, international bodies and research institutes did sign the statement, including the European Union, China and India.
The decision is a setback to efforts led by French President Emmanuel Macron to build international consensus around the technology.
What did the joint declaration state?
The communique signed by over 60 countries talks of “ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent [and] ethical”, making AI “sustainable for people and the planet” and “taking into account international frameworks”. The agreement also spoke of AI energy use — one research has shown that the AI industry could consume as much energy as a country the size of the Netherlands by 2027.
Speaking on the same, French President Macron told the gathering that regulation was needed to ensure trust in AI and to prevent people from rejecting it as unreliable. “We need a trustworthy AI,” said Macron.
Echoing similar comments about regulation, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also said that light regulation and guardrails were required in the use of AI. “This summit is focused on action, and that is exactly what we need right now.”
She added, “AI needs the confidence of people and has to be safe.”
PM Modi, who was co-chair of the AI Summit , in his remarks also pitched for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards for artificial intelligence to uphold shared values and address risks. The PM also underlined the need for open-source systems that enhance trust and transparency, and building data sets “free from biases ”.
“AI is already reshaping our polity, our economy, our security and even our society. AI is writing the code for humanity in this century. But, it is very different from other technological milestones in human history… AI is developing at an unprecedented scale and speed. And being adopted and deployed even faster. There is also a deep interdependence across borders. Therefore, there is a need for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards, that uphold our shared values, address risks and build trust,” said PM Modi in his remarks.
Why did US, UK not sign the declaration?
However, the US and UK didn’t agree on the aspect of guardrails and refused to sign the joint declaration — Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence.
The United Kingdom in its explanation said that the statement had not gone far enough in addressing global governance of AI and the technology’s impact on national security. “We agreed with much of the leaders’ declaration and continue to work closely with our international partners. This is reflected in our signing of agreements on sustainability and cybersecurity today at the Paris AI Action summit,” the UK spokesperson said. “However, we felt the declaration didn’t provide enough practical clarity on global governance, nor sufficiently address harder questions around national security and the challenge AI poses to it.”
The move puts the UK at odds with Europe — a question that was posed to the UK spokesperson. When asked if the move would upset France, the UK spokesperson said: “No. We are and always have been clear-eyed on the need to ensure safety is baked into AI from the outset and that’s why we’re continuing to support the work of our AI Safety Institute.”
One official who was present at the AI Summit told the _Financial Time_s that the US’ reason for not signing the declaration was that it was put off by the language around multilateralism.
In fact, United States Vice President JD Vance , who was at the event, said that too much regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”. In his speech to the dignitaries present at the summit, he said that America would not tolerate foreign governments “tightening the screws” on US companies. He further emphasised the Trump administration’s “America First” tech policy, and rebuked European regulation, “woke” AI and Chinese “theft”.
He railed on against the EU, saying, “Many of our most productive tech companies are forced to deal with the EU’s Digital Services Act and the massive regulations it created about taking down content and policing so-called misinformation.
“Meanwhile, for smaller firms, navigating the GDPR means paying endless legal compliance costs or otherwise risking massive fines. For some the easiest way to avoid the dilemma has been to simply block EU users in the first place. Is this really the future that we want? Ladies and gentlemen, I think the answer for all of us should be: no.”
The US vice president, who is on his first overseas trip, added that AI should not “become dominated by massive players looking to use the tech to censor or control users’ thoughts”. Taking a dig at China, he said, “We’ve also watched as hostile foreign adversaries have weaponised AI software to rewrite history, surveil users and censor speech.”
Also please watch: French President Emmanuel Macron’s full interview with Firstpost
What do experts say?
On the UK’s reluctance to sign the AI Summit’s joint declaration, Andrew Dudfield, head of AI at fact-checking organisation Full Fact, said that it put the sector in jeopardy. “By refusing to sign today’s international AI Action Statement, the UK government risks undercutting its hard-won credibility as a world leader for safe, ethical and trustworthy AI innovation,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Even Michael Birtwistle, associate director at the Ada Lovelace Institute questioned the UK’s decision to not sign the communique. “Just a week ago, the government said it wants to see AI used ‘in a way that’s responsible and in line with values and ethics of society’. Looking at the summit declaration, it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly in that statement the government disagrees with. We hope the UK’s decision not to sign the declaration is not a rejection of the vital governance AI needs,” he was quoted telling The Times.
With inputs from agencies
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