A group of 12 European Union lawmakers working on a future EU law on artificial intelligence has raised concerns about the rapid development of powerful AI systems. In an open letter, they emphasized the need for a set of preliminary rules to regulate the growth and deployment of general-purpose “powerful” AI, stating that technological progress is “faster and more unpredictable” than expected.
This statement came after weeks of a group of over 1,000 technology experts, including Twitter owner Elon Musk, requested a six-month hiatus in the development of systems that surpass the capabilities of Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s newest ChatGPT iteration, which can produce text and images using prompts, an announcement was made.
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Last week China’s cyberspace regulator unveiled draft measures to manage generative AI services, affirming the willingness of companies to hand over security assessments to authorities before making services public.
MEPs Warn of Political Inaction
The signatories of the letter also appealed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to hold a global summit on artificial intelligence. They hope that world leaders can adopt a set of guiding principles that will ensure the development and use of powerful AI is “human-centric, safe and reliable.” The lawmakers warned that political inaction “could widen the gap between the development of AI and our ability to manage it.”
Companies and Labs Called to Cooperate
In addition to urging political leaders to take action, the MEPs also called on companies and labs working with the technology to show a high sense of responsibility, increase transparency and cooperate with politicians. This is especially important as individual EU members are already trying to manage the work of advanced artificial intelligence models in the absence of comprehensive legislation. France, Spain, and Italy have launched investigations into OpenAI’s ChatGPT over data privacy concerns, with the latter even imposing a temporary ban.
Draft Law Already in Discussion
While the lawmakers call for additional rules, it’s worth noting that AI law has existed in the form of a draft for almost two years now. According to Reuters, the law is being discussed by a parliamentary committee, which hopes to reach a common position by April 26. However, MEPs warn that the exponential growth of AI requires urgent political attention to avoid complex future scenarios.
Concerns Echoed in the US
Concerns about the exponential growth of AI are not limited to Europe. In an open letter from the Future Life Institute (FLI), more than 26 signatories, including DeepMind researchers, computer scientist Joshua Bengio, and Elon Musk, urged AI labs to take a six-month hiatus from developing more powerful systems than GPT-4, the successor to ChatGPT. The letter was deemed “excessively panicked” by some lawmakers, but they agreed with its main idea: the rapid evolution of powerful AI requires political attention.
Global Summit Proposed to Address Concerns
As the use of artificial intelligence continues to grow, the need for regulation becomes increasingly important. The MEPs’ call for a global summit on artificial intelligence is an attempt to address the concerns about the exponential growth of powerful AI. While the draft AI law is being discussed, it’s crucial that political leaders and industry experts work together to ensure that AI is developed and used in a way that prioritizes human safety and well-being.
