G7 meeting decides to set up working group to tackle AI issues
US President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other world leaders take part in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 20, 2023. — AFP
During the meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) in Hiroshima, leaders of the industrialised rich democracies stressed the world to evaluate the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) saying "a working group will be set up to tackle issues from copyright to disinformation".
The leaders also said that they will initiate a discussion this year on the responsible use of AI technology.
Advanced AI-powered technology such as ChatGPT has sparked a worldwide debate about mitigating the risks with the creator of ChatGPT CEO of OpenAI Altman telling US lawmakers this week that regulating AI was important.
"We recognise the need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI, which is increasingly prominent across countries and sectors," the final statement from the G7 summit said.
It also added: "We task relevant ministers to establish the Hiroshima AI process, through a G7 working group, in an inclusive manner... for discussions on generative AI by the end of this year."
Leaders and delegates pose for a photo ahead of a G7 working session on food, health and development during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Saturday, May 20, 2023. — AFP
"These discussions could include topics such as governance, safeguard of intellectual property rights including copyrights, promotion of transparency, response to foreign information manipulation, including disinformation, and responsible utilisation of these technologies."
“The new working group will be organised in cooperation with the OECD group of developed countries and the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI),” the official communique noted.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified Tuesday before a US Senate panel and urged Congress to impose new rules on big tech.
He emphasized that in time, generative AI developed by his company would one day "address some of humanity's biggest challenges, like climate change and curing cancer".
However, "we think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigating the risks of increasingly powerful models," he remarked.
This month, legislators from the European Parliament took a first step towards the regulation of ChatGPT and other AI technology throughout the EU.
Frances' President Emmanuel Macron (centre L) speaks with US President Biden after a family photo of leaders of the G7 and invited countries during G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 20, 2023. — AFP
The details of the regulations are to be presented before the parliamentarians next month for adoption before negotiations with EU member states on a final law.
"While rapid technological change has been strengthening societies and economies, the international governance of new digital technologies has not necessarily kept pace," the summit statement underlined.
For AI and other emerging technologies including immersive metaverses, "the governance of the digital economy should continue to be updated in line with our shared democratic values", the statement stated.
The G7 statement further noted that among others, these values include fairness, respect for privacy, and "protection from online harassment, hate, and abuse", among others.