OpenAI warns of split with Europe as regulation advances

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OpenAI chief Sam Altman has warned that Brussels’ efforts to regulate artificial intelligence could lead the creator of ChatGPT to withdraw its services from the EU, in the clearest sign of a growing transatlantic rift over how to control the technology.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to London this week, Altman said he has “a lot of concerns” about the EU’s planned AI law, which is expected to be finalized next year. Notably, he pointed to a move by the European parliament this month to expand his proposed rules to include the latest wave of general-purpose AI technology, including large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4.

“Details really matter,” Altman said. “We will try to comply, but if we fail to comply we will cease to operate.”

Altman’s warning comes as US tech companies prepare for what some predict will be a protracted battle with European regulators over a technology that has rocked the industry this year. Google CEO Sundar Pichai also visited European capitals this week, trying to sway policy makers as they develop ‘guardrails’ to regulate TO THE.

The EU’s AI law was initially designed to deal with specific and high-risk uses of AI, such as its use in regulated products such as medical equipment or when companies use it in important decisions, including granting loans and making hiring decisions.

However, the uproar caused by the launch of ChatGPT late last year has prompted a rethink, with the European Parliament this month definition of additional rules for widely used systems that have general applications beyond the previously targeted cases. The proposal still needs to be negotiated with member states and the European Commission before the law enters into force by 2025.

The latest plan would require the creators of “base models” – the big systems behind services like ChatGPT – to identify and seek to mitigate the risks their technology could pose in a range of contexts. The new requirement would make the companies developing the models, including OpenAI and Google, partially responsible for the use of their AI systems, even if they have no control over the particular applications into which the technology has been incorporated.

The latest rules would also force tech companies to publish summaries of the copyrighted data that had been used to train their AI models, paving the way for artists and others to attempt to claim compensation for use of their material. .

Attempting to regulate generative AI while the technology is still in its infancy has shown a “fear from lawmakers, who are reading the headlines like everyone else,” said Christian Borggreen, Europe head of the Computer and Communications Industry Association with based in Washington. US tech companies had backed the EU’s previous plan to regulate AI before the “gut” reaction to ChatGPT, he added.

US tech companies have urged Brussels to move more cautiously when it comes to regulating the latest AI, arguing that Europe should take longer to study the technology and understand how to balance opportunities and risks.

Pichai met with officials in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss AI policy, including Brando Benifei and Dragoş Tudorache, the main MEPs responsible for the AI ​​law. Pichai stressed the need for proper regulation of technology that doesn’t stifle innovation, according to three people attending the meetings.

Pichai also met with Thierry Breton, the EU’s digital chief who oversees the AI ​​Act. Breton told the Financial Times that he had discussed introducing an “AI pact” – an informal set of guidelines that companies of AIs must comply, before formal rules are put in place because “there was no time to waste in the race for AI to build a safe online environment”.

US critics say the EU’s AI Act will impose sweeping new responsibilities to control risks stemming from the latest AI systems without at the same time setting specific standards they should meet.

While it’s too early to predict practical effects, the open-ended nature of the law could cause some US tech companies to rethink their involvement in Europe, said Peter Schwartz, senior vice president of strategic planning at software firm Salesforce.

He added that Brussels “will act without reference to reality, as it has before” and that, with no European companies to lead the charge in advanced AI, politicians in the bloc have little incentive to support growth in the sector. “It will basically be European regulators who regulate American companies, as they have throughout the IT era.”

European proposals would prove viable if they lead to “continuous obligations for companies to keep up with the latest research [on AI safety] and the need to continuously identify and reduce risks,” said Alex Engler, a fellow at the Brookings Institution of Washington. ‘Some of the vagueness could be filled in by the EC and the standard setting bodies later.’

While the law seemed to only target large systems like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard chatbot, there was a risk it would “hit open source models and non-profit use” of the latest AI, Engler said.

OpenAI and Google executives have said yes in recent days back any regulation of artificial intelligence, although they have required further investigation and debate.

Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google, She said in a blog post last week that the company supported efforts to set standards and achieve broad political agreement on artificial intelligence, such as those underway in the US, UK and Singapore, specifically refraining from commenting on the EU, which is the most advanced in adopting specific rules.

The political timetable means Brussels may choose to go ahead with its current proposal rather than try to come up with more specific rules as generative AI develops, Engler said. Taking more time to finalize the IA Act would risk delaying it beyond the term of the current EU presidency, which could put the whole plan back on the drawing board, he added.