Google Chief Legal Officer: Kent Walker, Google’s Chief Legal Officer, emphasized the importance of supporting innovation in the rules governing artificial intelligence (AI), aligning with the broader sentiments of businesses and tech groups. As the European Union (EU) rushes to finalize AI rules by December 6, Walker urged a focus on achieving the best regulations rather than rushing into the first set.
In a speech prepared for the European Business Summit, Walker stressed the need for a balance between innovation and regulation to maintain technological leadership. He advocated for regulations that avoid micromanaging progress but hold actors accountable when they violate public trust. According to Walker, the competition should be for the best AI regulations rather than the first.
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The key issues being debated include foundation models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which are AI systems trained on extensive datasets and capable of learning from new data for various tasks. Walker urged the EU to make hard trade-offs between security and openness, data access and privacy, and exploitability and accuracy. He called for proportionate, risk-based rules that build on existing regulations, providing businesses with the confidence to continue investing in AI innovation.
This stance aligns with the recent warning from DigitalEurope and 32 European digital associations, cautioning the EU against over-regulating foundation models. As the EU shapes its AI regulatory framework, the focus remains on fostering innovation while addressing the ethical and practical challenges posed by advanced AI technologies.
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