EU lawmakers call for summit to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A group of 12 European Union lawmakers working on legislation related to AI have called for a summit to discuss ways to control the development of advanced AI systems, stating that they were evolving faster than expected. The MEPs urged US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convene the meeting. In a letter, they also called for greater responsibility from AI firms.

The call follows an open letter from 1,000 technology figures, including Elon Musk, calling for a pause in the development of more powerful AI systems. The MEPs disagreed with some of the more alarmist statements in the letter but said that they agreed with the core message of the need for significant political action.

Over the past few weeks, legislators worldwide have been actively deliberating on how to govern the use of AI. China’s cyberspace regulator published draft measures for managing generative AI services. The draft included measures such as submitting security assessments to authorities before companies launch new AI products to the public. While the US government has also been seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems as questions loom about their impact on national security and education. On the other hand, the European Commission proposed the draft rules for an AI Act nearly two years ago, under which AI tools are expected to be classified according to their perceived level of risk, from low to high risk.

The political agreement on the AI Act will be voted on by leading European Parliament committees on 26 April. The European Parliament intends to conclude its stance on the Act by May to commence negotiations with the EU Council and Commission. One of the primary topics under discussion among parliamentarians is whether to include general-purpose AI systems in the Act. Additionally, due to increasing concerns about generative AI systems such as ChatGPT, there is a possibility of introducing further specific provisions for such systems.