EU, Google CEO Agree on AI Pact... Will EU Accelerate Regulatory Legislation?

The European Union (EU) has agreed to cooperate with Google and Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, on AI regulatory measures. They have agreed on voluntary industry measures to prevent the spread of risks associated with fake content freely produced by AI. This development has drawn attention as it may accelerate the stalled EU AI regulatory legislation, which has been at a standstill for two years.

According to major foreign media on the 24th (local time), Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, tweeted after meeting with CEO Pichai in Brussels, Belgium, saying, "We have agreed to establish a voluntary 'AI pact' ahead of (the EU's) AI regulatory legislation together with the Google CEO and all AI stakeholders in Europe and beyond."

He added, "We expect the industry within Europe to respect all EU regulations on data protection, online safety, and AI," and "We welcome that CEO Pichai recognizes this and has committed to comply with all EU regulations." He did not mention specific details of the voluntary AI pact.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Since legislative procedures require time before actual AI regulations can be enforced, this is interpreted as the industry preparing preemptive measures to prevent side effects from increased AI usage.

Commissioner Breton urged EU member states and the Parliament to complete the AI regulatory legislative process within the year. The EU Commission drafted an AI regulatory bill applicable across the EU in 2021, but the trilateral negotiations among the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament necessary for implementing the regulation have not even begun after two years.

The regulatory proposal is expected to include measures to enhance transparency, such as classifying generative AI like ChatGPT or Midjourney as a separate category and clearly informing users that the content was created by a machine, not a human.

Earlier, at the G7 summit on the 20th, AI regulation was discussed as a major agenda item, and it was announced that "an international discussion based on democratic values will be conducted to achieve the common goal of 'trustworthy AI'." The G7 leaders agreed to establish international norms related to generative AI and a platform for international information exchange.

Since the emergence of generative AI that creates text and images, such as ChatGPT, its use has rapidly expanded. However, concerns and calls for regulation have also been raised regarding the risks of AI beyond human control, including the flood of fake content and criminal damages caused by AI.