EU lawmakers call for a summit to set new rules for AI tools like ChatGPT

European Parliament lawmakers are calling for the implementation of fresh regulations to govern general-purpose AI systems, including OpenAI's ChatGPT. The legislators argue that technology is advancing at an unanticipated pace and its unpredictable nature requires new laws.   

Twelve members of the European Parliament, who are actively involved in shaping EU policies on technology, have urged US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to organise a meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the need for AI firms to be more accountable.  

AI is moving very fast and we need to move too. The call from the Future of Life Institute @FLIxrisk to pause the development of very powerful AI for half a year, although unnecessarily alarmist, is another signal we need to focus serious political attention on this issue. pic.twitter.com/Tjrj9k02Yj

— Dragoș Tudorache (@IoanDragosT) April 17, 2023

A global AI summit is being proposed by a group of individuals who have written an open letter. This summit aims to bring together representatives from various parts of the world to discuss and establish governing principles that will regulate the development and deployment of AI models. The group is focused on ensuring that these models are human-centric, safe, and trustworthy.  

In the open letter, lawmakers acknowledged that while the AI Act is directed at high-risk AI use cases, “we also need a complementary set of preliminary rules for the development and deployment of powerful General-Purpose AI systems that can be easily adapted to a multitude of purposes.”  

Lawmakers have urged both democratic and non-democratic nations to exhibit restraint and responsibility in their pursuit of highly potent artificial intelligence. They called for AI labs and companies to uphold a sense of responsibility and enhance transparency and communication with regulators.   

As the EU's AI Bill is currently in the final stages of the debate, with an increasing number of regulators worldwide joining the discussion. In a recent development, China's leading internet regulatory body has put forth a set of regulations aimed at managing artificial intelligence tools similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT.   

The Biden administration in the United States has initiated an examination to determine whether it is necessary to impose restrictions on certain tools. Italy has recently imposed a temporary ban on ChatGPT citing privacy concerns, while the UK has released a paper recommending regulatory oversight for the development of AI. The focus of such regulation would be on ensuring the safety, transparency, and fairness of AI tools.   

The letter comes after a group of prominent AI experts and tech executives including Elon Musk signed an open letter from the Future of Life Institute last month. The letter calls for a six-month moratorium on the training of the next generation of AI tools, in order to allow regulators and industry professionals to establish safety standards.