G7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say
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[May 01, 2023]
By Kantaro Komiya
TAKASAKI (Reuters) -Group of Seven advanced nations should adopt
"risk-based" regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital
ministers agreed on Sunday, as European lawmakers hurry to introduce an
AI Act to enforce rules on emerging tools such as ChatGPT.
But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling
environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on
democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the
end of a two-day meeting in Japan.
While the ministers recognised that "policy instruments to achieve the
common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary across G7 members",
the agreement sets a landmark for how major countries govern AI amid
privacy concerns and security risks.
"The conclusions of this G7 meeting show that we are definitely not
alone in this," European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe
Vestager told Reuters ahead of the agreement.
Governments have especially paid attention to the popularity of
generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft
Corp-backed OpenAI that has become the fastest-growing app in history
since its November launch.
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"We plan to convene future G7 discussions on generative AI which could
include topics such as governance, how to safeguard intellectual
property rights including copyright, promote transparency, address
disinformation" including information manipulation by foreign forces,
the ministerial statement said.
Italy, a G7 member, took ChatGPT offline last month to investigate its
potential breach of personal data rules. While Italy lifted the ban on
Friday, the move has inspired fellow European privacy regulators to
launch probes.
EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft
of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for
generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to
control such technology.
Vestager, EU's tech regulation chief, said the bloc "will have the
political agreement this year" on the AI legislation, such as labelling
obligations for AI-generated images or music, to address copyright and
educational risks.
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![](../images/050123PIX/news_d11.jpg)
Digital and technology ministers attend
a photo session during the G7 Digital and Tech Ministers' Meeting in
Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, on April 29, 2023, in this photo
taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERS
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Japan, this year's chair of G7, meanwhile, has taken an
accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public
and industrial adoption of AI.
Japan hoped to get the G7 "to agree on agile or flexible governance,
rather than preemptive, catch-all regulation" over AI technology,
industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday ahead of the
ministerial talks.
"Pausing (AI development) is not the right response - innovation
should keep developing but within certain guardrails that
democracies have to set," Jean-Noel Barrot, French Minister for
Digital Transition, told Reuters, adding France will provide some
exceptions to small AI developers under the upcoming EU regulation.
Besides intellectual property concerns, G7 countries recognised
security risks. "Generative AI...produces fake news and disruptive
solutions to the society if the data it's based is fake," Japanese
digital minister Taro Kono told a press conference after the
agreement.
The top tech officials from G7 - Britain, Canada, the EU, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - met in Takasaki, a
city about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Tokyo, following energy
and foreign ministers' meetings this month.
Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Takasaki, Japan; Additional
reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Lincoln
Feast.)
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