G7 leaders call for development of global standards for artificial intelligence that should be in line with “democratic” values
G7 leaders on Saturday called for the development and implementation of technical standards to keep artificial intelligence (AI) “trustworthy”, saying that governance of the technology has not kept pace with its growth.
While the G7 leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan, while approaches to “achieving the shared vision and goal of trusted AI may vary,” they said in a statement that rules for digital technologies like AI should be “consistent with our shared practices.” democratic values”.
The agreement comes as the European Union, which participates in the G7 nations, this month moved closer to adopting legislation to regulate artificial intelligence technology, possibly the world’s first comprehensive AI law that could set a precedent among advanced economies.
“We want artificial intelligence systems to be accurate, reliable, secure and non-discriminatory regardless of their origin,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
The G7 leaders said they “need to immediately assess the opportunities and challenges of generative artificial intelligence,” a subset of the technology popularized by the ChatGPT app.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT forced Elon Musk and a group of AI experts to sound the alarm in March and demand a six-month pause in developing more efficient systems due to potential risks to society. A month later, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to find ways to manage AI technologies, saying they were developing faster than expected.
The U.S. has so far taken a cautious approach to managing AI, with President Joe Biden saying last month that it remains to be seen whether AI is dangerous. Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI, told a Senate panel on Tuesday that the United States should consider licensing and testing requirements for developing artificial intelligence models.
Japan, this year’s chair of the G7, has been even more sympathetic, pledging to support the general and industrial adoption of AI while monitoring its risks. “It’s important to properly handle both the opportunities and the risks,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the government’s artificial intelligence council last week.
Western countries’ different approaches to artificial intelligence are at odds with China’s restrictive policies. Its cyberspace regulator unveiled a draft measure in April to align generative AI-based services with the country’s core socialist values.
While acknowledging differences over how to regulate AI, G7 leaders agreed on Friday to set up a ministerial forum called the “Hiroshima AI Process” to discuss generative AI issues such as copyright and disinformation by the end of this year.
The leaders also urged international organizations, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to consider analyzing the effects of policy developments.
The summit followed last month’s meeting of G7 digital ministers, where its members – the US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada and the EU – said they should adopt “risk-based” AI rules.
The EU and the US are also expected to exchange views on emerging technologies at the Trade and Technology Council in Sweden on 30-31. May.
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