Europe’s AI law needs a smart pause, not a full stop
The rules could create some much-needed transparency, and force companies to share the secrets of their training data and processes
THERE is a common tool in the arsenal for anyone trying to change the course of artificial intelligence (AI): the pause.
Two years ago, Elon Musk and other tech leaders published an open letter calling on tech companies to delay their AI development for six months to better protect humanity. Now the target has shifted. Amid a growing fear of getting left behind in a race to build computers smarter than humans, a group of European corporate leaders are pointing the “pause” gun at the European Union (EU), the world’s self-styled AI cop.
Like the tech bros who wanted to rein in AI two years ago, this is a blunt suggestion that misses the nuance of what it is trying to address. A blanket pause on AI rules would not help Europe catch up with the US and China, as more than 45 companies now argue. That ignores a more fundamental problem around funding that the region’s tech startups desperately need to scale up and compete with their larger Silicon Valley rivals. The idea that Europe has to choose between being an innovator and a regulator is a narrative successfully spun by Big Tech lobbyists who would benefit most from a lighter regulatory touch.
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