KANANASKIS, Alberta — G7 leaders on Monday steered clear of using overly strong
language on keeping AI safe and managing the risks associated with the
technology at their summit in Canada.
Just as at the Paris AI Action Summit in February, they placed greater emphasis
on the adoption of AI in a leaders’ statement titled “AI for prosperity.”
“We must better drive innovation and adoption of secure, responsible and
trustworthy AI that benefits people, mitigates negative externalities, and
promotes our national security,” read a draft statement seen by POLITICO.
It’s a break with the past.
In May 2023, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, G7 leaders launched the so-called
Hiroshima AI process to promote safe and trustworthy AI and signed a statement
that explicitly recognized “the need to manage risks” and pushed for “keeping
humankind at the center.”
It came with a voluntary code of conduct for companies developing the most
advanced AI models. That code of conduct was namechecked only once in the
current G7 draft.
The safety focus back then followed the overnight popularity of generative AI
thanks to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
In the meantime, however, attention has shifted from safety to winning the AI
race.
In January, U.S. President Donald Trump revoked an executive order from the
Biden era that had aimed to develop “safe, secure and trustworthy” AI, in a rare
win for the EU.
At the February Paris Summit, U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned EU countries
against heavy-handed AI regulation, while the U.S. called for a pause of the
EU’s AI Act, which aims to mitigate the risks stemming from the technology.
Just as at the Paris AI Action Summit in February, they placed greater emphasis
on the adoption of AI in a leaders’ statement titled “AI for prosperity.” |
Mohammed Badra/EPA
The U.K., meanwhile, in February changed the name of its AI Safety Institute to
the AI Security Institute.
Pieter Haeck reported from Brussels, Mickey Djuric from Ottawa and Koen Verhelst
from the G7 summit in Kananaskis.