US And UK Decline To Sign AI Summit Statement

According to Cointelegraph, the United States and the United Kingdom have opted not to sign the final statement from a French-hosted artificial intelligence summit, which emphasized the inclusive, ethical, and safe development of AI technology. The summit, held in Paris on February 10 and 11, gathered participants from over 100 countries, including government leaders, international organizations, academics, and researchers. The key priorities outlined at the summit included improving AI accessibility, ensuring ethical and safe AI practices, promoting innovation while preventing market concentration, using AI to positively impact labor markets, making AI environmentally sustainable, and strengthening international cooperation on AI governance. Despite these objectives, the US and UK refrained from endorsing the statement. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, represented by Vice President JD Vance, criticized European AI regulations as potentially stifling innovation and rejected content moderation as "authoritarian censorship." Vance emphasized that restricting AI development could hinder one of the most promising technologies of the generation. He argued that excessive regulation could stifle a transformative industry and stressed the importance of keeping AI free from ideological bias. The British government also expressed concerns about specific language in the agreement, noting that it differed significantly from its own AI safety summit held in 2023. Sixty countries signed the statement, which included proposals for launching a public-interest AI platform and incubator, as well as creating a network of observatories to study AI's impact on jobs and workplaces. However, the absence of the US and UK from the signatories highlights differing approaches to AI governance. Experts, including Russell Wald from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, view this as a significant shift in US policy, prioritizing accelerated innovation over safety concerns. Wald noted that the focus is on innovation, with the belief that safety equates to regulation, which could potentially hinder opportunities. Meanwhile, the European Union's AI Act, which took effect in August, introduced the world's first comprehensive regulatory framework for AI. In September, the EU, US, UK, and other countries signed the Framework Convention on AI, addressing human rights and democratic values in AI regulation. However, President Trump, upon taking office in January, rescinded the previous administration's executive order that established a framework for AI, which included reporting mechanisms for companies.