More than 60 nations gathered in Paris this week at a meeting of AI Summit, which was supposed to gather world forces to set a global plan for developing quickly. Instead, it showed that some were sharply different.
Over the last few years, the European Union has carried out aggressive regulation of BIG Tech, exploring the main US companies such as Google and Apple and passing several laws that make it easier to control their activities. In the meantime, Trump’s administration has made a technological deregulation with the central part of its agenda, promising to remove the bureaucracy that the industry says is stifled into innovation.
So when dozens of countries, including Canada, China, Australia and France, signed a document promising an affordable and inclusive approach to the development of AI, now it decided not – but so is the UK, which raised their eyebrows among participants and in the media.
“What we see here is this tension between, on the one hand, the desire to drive the economy through AI innovation, but the other side of the need to regulate,” explained Teresa Scassa, a professor at Ottawa University who holds Canadian research chairman in the information law and politics .
Vance spreads against “excessive” regulation
For example, now is the home of the big AI companies “who want a free reign for innovation and where this innovation will put them at the head of the economy driving. All attempts to regulate will slow them down,” she said.
In the meantime, the UK – which Scassa Notes saw economic decline Because Brexit – tries to position as an alternative to a more conservative approach to AI EU regulation, she said.
British prime minister spokesman Keir Starmer said that Earth only ever invested in the initiatives that are in his “national interests”.
The US Ai regulation stop has become much clearer to the comments of Vice-President JD Vance, who spoke on a summit and criticized the EU conservative approach by saying that exaggerated regulations would Kill an industry.
He then appeared to warn the countries to work with China, because it would make it vulnerable to the spy, he said.
China, for a long time, criticized for her practices of human rights, signed on the main document of the summit. This surprised some observers, since the pledge called for a sustainable and human oriented approach to the development of AI.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed Vance’s characterization of her regulatory environment, saying that he hoped that Europe would be the leader of AI, but with her own “distinctive approach” on arrival.
She and other European officials have Recently caused The perception that relatively difficult EU regulations means that it is not open to innovation. Quite the opposite, she said at the Paris event.
“Ai race is far from the end. The truth is that we are only at the beginning. The border is constantly moving, and global leadership is still ready to catch.”
Macron says the EU is lagging behind
Florian Martin-Baritau, an associate professor of rights at the University of Ottawa who attended the summit, says that France also took a different attitude than what the guests expected.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has suffered a Supradi Summit along with Indian Narendra Modi, hit a bull’s toneHe made a lot of breaking with the rest of the EU messages. He suggested that the economic coalition may have gone too far in the regulation of technology, saying that his countries were “lags behind. “
But probably “The biggest surprise for many people” be that the final declaration signed on the Paris-in-dubbave pledge that functions more as a strong political statement on the setting of the agenda-it is lighter than expected, with several details about regulation, security and disinformation.
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A similar summit held in London last summer focused on the potential existential risks of AI, Martin-Bariteau said. This seemed to be a less priority this time, he said, showing an earthquake in the way the countries approach regulation.
“It could be a wonderful technology, but in recent months we have seen that, depending on how it has been developed or who uses such technology, it can be quite risky and have a real impact,” he said, especially citing concerns about its potential use in global choice disorders.
Other critics of the document thought This language of security and inclusion in the final agreement diminished that he complained to the new US administration and its great technological allies. Some reports suggest that the UK is followed The guidance of the US -Au not signing it – the UK denied it in a statement, vaguely quoting Concern about national security.
Companies scared overly regulated countries
Some large technological companies withdrew from the regions they consider regulatedsaid Olivier Blais, co -founder of the consulting company Montreal Moov AI.
This was the case in the European Union, which brought its own technology regulation last year last year. He also adopted the Law on Competition called the Digital Markets Act, which was partially passed in 2023. Apple cited the latter account for Why didn’t he make features including Apple Intelligence Widely available in the region, he said.
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This creates what they call the commercial barrier in the AI industry, he added. “From a consumer point of view, it’s bad because you don’t have access to these tools,” he said.
But this lack of approach can also make people think critically about technology: “Is it really responsible? Is it really safe to use these tools? It’s a very legitimate question,” he said. “So many people use these tools without asking questions.”
Regulatory environment increasingly complex
Scassa, Professor of the Otottawa, said that the difference between the US -Ai EU -Au regulating artificial intelligence puts Canada between his two largest trade partners, and several existential issues hang in balance.
Canada currently has no comprehensive legislation that regulates AI; federal government proposed Such a bill of law last year, but he died when Parliament was prophesied in January. Questions on how to regulate – if at all – they have been set in the air since then.
As technology becomes more complex, so does the regulatory environment increase, she added, given the concern, including public safety, misinformation and climate influence.
“Some priorities change and can change differently to different countries.”
