The G7 agreed on a code of conduct for artificial intelligence (AI) developers. The leaders called on the European Union to speed up the legislation, but noted that excessive regulation could be harmful, especially in the face of competition from China and the United States. In the United Kingdom, political and economic leaders gathered to discuss AI at the first global AI security summit, pledging to work together, media platform European Newsroom reported in an article published on Friday and cited by Agerpres.

Although the potential of artificial intelligence is promising, particularly for medicine, its development is considered largely uncontrolled. Artificial intelligence has been in the spotlight this week thanks to the G7 voluntary code of conduct, a tripartite meeting of French, German and Italian ministers in Rome, US President Joe Biden’s “landmark” executive order and the International Artificial Intelligence Summit. in Bletchley Park in North London.

In late October, the UN created a panel of experts to provide recommendations on artificial intelligence, a technology with “transformational potential” but still with major risks to democracy and human rights. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked the group to launch a race “against time” and provide recommendations by the end of 2023 on how to manage the use of AI, identifying the risks it poses and the opportunities it presents.

G7: Voluntary Code of Conduct for AI Developers

On Monday, the G7 countries (Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) agreed on international guidelines and a code of conduct for companies and institutions developing artificial intelligence systems as part of the Hiroshima Process on AI. These principles aim to reduce the risks associated with these technologies, such as misinformation and violations of privacy or intellectual property.

This roadmap is about promoting the development of “safe and reliable” artificial intelligence systems internationally and “managing their risks,” according to the joint statement, which also calls on all actors in the artificial intelligence sector to commit to it.

The G7 emphasizes the “innovative and transformative potential” of advanced artificial intelligence systems and, in particular, generative models such as the ChatGPT chatbot, while recognizing the need to “protect people, society and common principles” in addition to “putting humanity at the center.”

“I am pleased to welcome the G7 international guidelines and voluntary code of conduct, which reflect the EU’s values ​​in promoting trustworthy artificial intelligence. I ask AI developers to sign and implement this code of conduct as soon as possible,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She recalled that “the European Union, which is already a regulatory pioneer through the AI ​​Act, is contributing to the security and governance barriers of AI at the global level.”

EU: Excessive regulation harms ability to compete globally

Germany, France and Italy want to work more closely together on AI so that Europe can compete more effectively with the United States and China. The economy ministers of the EU’s three largest economies spoke on Monday, calling for increased investment in new technologies.

After a meeting in Rome, economy ministers Robert Habeck, Bruno Le Maire and Adolfo Urso welcomed the world’s first law covering the field of AI, a regulation expected to be agreed by the end of the year. But in a joint statement they said it was “important to ensure that EU legislation is drafted without undue red tape and to reduce the current red tape”.

The law will regulate artificial intelligence according to the level of risk: for example, the greater the risk to human rights or health, the greater the obligations of the systems.

The ministers emphasized that Europe will be able to hold its own at the international level when it comes to AI. Habek said: “We don’t need to hide. We have companies that are better than the US tech giants in many areas.” At the same time, he asked for faster decision-making at the European level. “If we wait three and a half years, we no longer have a chance. We will end up regulating a market that no longer exists,” he explained.

French minister Le Maire said the US is investing ten times more money in AI than Europe, saying the United States invested 50 billion euros ($53 billion) in AI last year, compared to 5 billion euros for the EU and 10 billion euros for China . Ministers have called for simplified procedures for multinational projects to help European start-ups. Italian Minister Urso, who hosted the talks on Monday, said AI would be a priority for Italy’s G7 presidency in 2024.

In late October, Bulgarian e-Government Minister Oleksandr Jolovski said the European Union should regulate the use of the technology because it poses a high risk to fundamental rights and European values, but the EU should not interfere in regulation.

In Slovenia, since 2020, the International Center for Research on Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI) has been opened in Ljubljana under the auspices of UNESCO. This year saw the first European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence, which was attended by 630 participants from 42 countries.

“While smaller countries may not have the resources of the big players, specialization and commitment to education and research can give them a competitive edge in certain areas of artificial intelligence,” Slovenia’s digital transformation minister, Emilia Stojmenova Duh, said recently.

US: ‘benchmark’ order to regulate artificial intelligence, seeking to work with allies on international rules

President Joe Biden on Monday issued an executive order regulating artificial intelligence aimed at ensuring the United States “leads the way” in global efforts to manage the risks associated with the technology.

The “benchmark” order directs federal agencies to set new security standards for AI systems. According to a statement from the White House, developers are also required to share the results of security checks and other important information with the US government.

World Summit on Artificial Intelligence Security (Photo: Simon Walker / Avalon / Profimedia)

Great Britain: Bletchley Park meeting – ‘start’ or ‘missed opportunity’?

On Wednesday, countries including Britain, the US and China agreed on the “need for international action” as political and technology leaders gathered for the first World Summit on the Security of Artificial Intelligence. UK Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said the announcement “really highlights for the first time that the world is coming together to identify this problem”.

The two-day meeting at historic Bletchley Park in north London, where Nazi Germany’s Enigma code was broken during World War II, aimed to find “international consensus” on the challenges of AI and how to solve them, and will later propose the creation of a global group of experts who will periodic reports.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the invitation to China – a country some have accused of technological espionage – “because no serious strategy can be developed unless the global potential” of the sector is engaged.

Following the recent tripartite agreement between Italy, Germany and France, the meeting at Bletchi Park marked “the beginning of a process of engaging other continents to achieve what we hope is a new global alliance, similar to the climate one, on rules and safeguards. which will be accepted as an answer to the challenge of artificial intelligence,” Urso noted.

However, on Monday more than 100 British and international organizations, experts and human rights activists published an open letter to Prime Minister Sunak, calling the summit a “missed opportunity” and too focused on big tech. The coalition, which includes unions, human rights groups such as Amnesty International and representatives of the tech community, warned that “workers and communities most affected by AI have been marginalized” and that the list of invitees is “selective and limited”.

AI outside the European Union

In Europe, countries that are not directly involved in regulatory issues, such as the EU AI Act or the G7 meeting, are nevertheless taking their own measures to combat AI.

For example, in North Macedonia, on the initiative of the Fund for Innovation and Technology Development (FITD), in September 2021, a working group was created to develop the first national strategy on artificial intelligence. The country will also host the sixth regional e-commerce conference in Skopje on November 14, with an emphasis on harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence. Representatives of such companies as Nestlé, Meta, Zalando, Allegro and Reebok will be among the participants of the conference. The event is expected to bring together more than 600 entrepreneurs, e-traders, business leaders and government representatives from North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.

At the same time, Albania aims to become part of the Digital Europe program, which will be implemented by 2027. The Albanian government has already approved the draft law on the ratification of the agreement between Albania and the European Union to participate in the Digital Europe program, which is currently being approved by the commissions of the Albanian parliament.