The AI Action Summit held in Paris on February 11 brought sharp divisions in artificial intelligence regulation to the surface. The United States and the United Kingdom rejected signing the "Artificial Intelligence for People and Planet" declaration, while more than 61 countries - including France, China, India and Japan - joined the initiative. The declaration aims to regulate AI development in the spirit of sustainability and social responsibility, which the USA and UK did not support, citing economic and innovation concerns.
The declaration's main priorities include increasing AI accessibility to reduce digital inequalities and ensuring that AI systems are open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, and reliable. Additionally, it emphasizes promoting innovation, avoiding market concentration, positively shaping labor markets, and ensuring sustainability for people and the planet. By signing the declaration, countries committed themselves to strengthening international cooperation in AI governance.
Among the concrete outcomes of the meeting are an observatory to be established with the International Energy Agency to monitor AI's energy impacts and create a network to examine AI's effects on the labor market. According to Kate Crawford, a research professor at the University of Southern California, the AI summit ended with a divide. The group urging AI development wants unlimited expansion - more capital, energy, private infrastructure, without regulation. In contrast, countries and organizations representing the public interest advocate for protecting workers' rights, environmental sustainability, transparent data management, safety regulations, and proper oversight.
Sources:
1.
2.
Sebastian Klovig Skelton,
3.
Rohini Krishnamurthy
