Europe's AI Act: Here's how tech companies reacted
The European Union (EU) is close to passing the world's first set of comprehensive rules for artificial intelligence (AI). Earlier this month, the bloc's lawmakers passed the draft version of the AI Act. Now, tech companies have expressed what they think about Europe's upcoming AI regulation to Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market. Let's see what they said.
Why does this story matter?
We have witnessed a meteoric rise in AI tools across the world over the past few months. The fast proliferation of AI has posed a unique challenge to lawmakers worldwide: how to regulate the new technology? There have been a lot of discussions about AI regulations in several countries, but no region is as advanced as Europe in this matter.
Sam Altman lauded the EU's risk-based approach
It was OpenAI's ChatGPT that started the ongoing AI revolution. The AI chatbot showed the world what generative AI is truly capable of. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman lauded the EU's risk-based approach to AI. "I really appreciate the European institution here, and the foresight on taking this issue so seriously, for the rest of the world, too," he said.
Altman previously criticized the EU Act
Altman had previously said the AI Act would be "over-regulating." He even threatened to leave the region if it could not comply with the legislation. Breton had criticized Altman's comments. However, the OpenAI CEO later changed his stance saying the company has no plans to leave Europe. He took a step further this time, giving full endorsement to the regulation.
Zuckerberg offered support for EU's AI regulation
Meta is another key contender in the AI race. The company had a slow start but it has been making up for lost time. Breton also met with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during his tour. Like Altman, Zuckerberg offered support for the AI Act. According to Breton, their views were "aligned" on the upcoming regulation.
Meta is open to joining the voluntary AI Pact
Earlier this year, Europe pitched a set of non-binding principles around accountability and transparency called 'AI Pact.' It was proposed as a stopgap solution. Meta expressed its support for AI Pact. "...it's important for tech companies to be open about the work they're doing on AI and engage collaboratively across industry, governments and civil society," said Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs.
NVIDIA is likely to invest in Europe
A discussion about AI is not complete without talking to NVIDIA, the market leader in AI processors. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said his company is "extremely likely" to invest in Europe.
