Tech giants and digital associations warn EU against overregulation of AI

The EU is in the final stage of negotiations related to the AI Act that may set the global benchmark for AI regulations. Digital associations emphasised the need for Europe to lead in AI innovation by embracing foundation models and limiting its requirements on transparency while addressing legitimate concerns in specific sectors.
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As the EU enters the final stages of negotiations on AI Act, Digital Europe – a European trade association that represents major companies like Airbus, Apple, Google, and SAP, urged the EU to avoid regulatory measures that could extinguish innovative players utilising foundation models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other AI systems trained on extensive datasets, capable of learning and discharging various tasks.

The nuanced approach of a joint proposal on future AI regulations, recently unveiled by France, Germany, and Italy, was backed by thirty-two European digital associations. The proposal advocates limiting AI rules concerning foundation models specifically to transparency requirements – it wants to regulate the use of AI foundation models, not the technology itself.

Companies participating in the debate express frustration at neglecting the medical sector’s concerns in the regulatory process. They argue that there needs to be a more comprehensive understanding of the effects on industries like healthcare to avoid unintended consequences.

Moreover, calls from creative industries for AI rules to address copyright issues are met with resistance from the companies. They assert that existing EU copyright protection frameworks are robust enough to handle AI-related concerns, such as text and data mining exemptions.