Factbox: Governments race to regulate AI tools

Melco International Development

02/02/2024 15:39

(Updates Australia, EU, Vatican)
       Feb 2 (Reuters) - Rapid advances in artificial
intelligence (AI) such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT are
complicating governments' efforts to agree laws governing the
use of the technology.
    Here are the latest steps national and international
governing bodies are taking to regulate AI tools:

    AUSTRALIA
    * Planning regulations
    The Australian government said on Jan. 17 it will set up an
advisory body to mitigate the risks of AI, and that it planned
to work with industry bodies to introduce a range of guidelines,
including encouraging technology companies to label and
watermark content generated by AI.

    BRITAIN
    * Planning regulations
    Leading AI developers agreed in November, at the first
global AI Safety Summit in Britain, to work with governments to
test new frontier models before they are released to help manage
the risks of the developing technology. 
    More than 25 countries present at the summit, including the
U.S. and China, as well as the EU, signed a "Bletchley
Declaration" to work together and establish a common approach on
oversight.
    Britain said at the summit it would triple to 300 million
pounds ($364 million) its funding for the "AI Research
Resource", comprising two supercomputers which will support
research into making advanced AI models safe, a week after Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak had said Britain would set up the world's
first AI safety institute.
    Britain's data watchdog said in October it had issued Snap
Inc's  SNAP.N  Snapchat with a preliminary enforcement notice
over a possible failure to properly assess the privacy risks of
its generative AI chatbot to users, particularly children.

    CHINA
    * Implemented temporary regulations
    Wu Zhaohui, China's vice minister of science and technology,
told the opening session of the AI Safety Summit in Britain in
November that Beijing was ready to increase collaboration on AI
safety to help build an international "governance framework".
    China published proposed security requirements for firms
offering services powered by generative AI in October, including
a blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train AI models.
    The country issued a set of temporary measures in August,
requiring service providers to submit security assessments and
receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.

    EUROPEAN UNION
    * Planning regulations
    Europe on Feb. 2 moved a step closer to adopting rules
governing the use of AI after EU countries endorsed a political
deal reached in December on the AI Act, which aims to better
control governments' use of AI in biometric surveillance and how
to regulate AI systems.
    The accord requires foundation models and general purpose AI
systems to comply with transparency obligations before they are
put on the market. These include drawing up technical
documentation, complying with EU copyright law and disseminating
detailed summaries about the content used for training.

    FRANCE
        * Investigating possible breaches
    France's privacy watchdog said in April it was investigating
complaints about ChatGPT.

    G7
        * Seeking input on regulations
    The G7 countries agreed in October to an 11-point code of
conduct for firms developing advanced AI systems, which "aims to
promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI worldwide". 

    ITALY
        * Investigating possible breaches
    Italy's data protection authority plans to review AI
platforms and hire experts in the field, a top official said in
May. ChatGPT was temporarily banned in Italy in March, but it
was made available again in April.

    JAPAN
        * Planning regulations
    Japan expects to introduce by the end of 2023 regulations
that are likely closer to the U.S. attitude than the stringent
ones planned in the EU, an official close to deliberations said
in July.
    The country's privacy watchdog has warned OpenAI not to
collect sensitive data without people's permission.

    POLAND
        * Investigating possible breaches
    Poland's Personal Data Protection Office said in September
it was investigating OpenAI over a complaint that ChatGPT breaks
EU data protection laws.

    SPAIN
    * Investigating possible breaches
    Spain's data protection agency in April launched a
preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by
ChatGPT.

    UNITED NATIONS
    * Planning regulations
    The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in October
announced the creation of a 39-member advisory body, composed of
tech company executives, government officials and academics, to
address issues in the international governance of AI.

    UNITED STATES
    * Seeking input on regulations
    The U.S., Britain and more than a dozen other countries in
November unveiled a 20-page non-binding agreement carrying
general recommendations on AI such as monitoring systems for
abuse, protecting data from tampering and vetting software
suppliers.
    The U.S. will launch an AI safety institute to evaluate
known and emerging risks of so-called "frontier" AI models,
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on Nov. 1 during the AI
Safety Summit in Britain.
    President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Oct. 30 to
require developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S.
national security, the economy, public health or safety to share
the results of safety tests with the government.

    VATICAN CITY
    * Seeking input on regulations
    Pope Francis called in December for a legally binding
international treaty to regulate AI, saying algorithms must not
be allowed to replace human values and warning of a
"technological dictatorship" threatening human existence.

 (Compiled by Alessandro Parodi and Amir Orusov in Gdansk;
Editing by Milla Nissi, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, William
Maclean)
 ((alessandro.parodi@thomsonreuters.com))