The European Union and the United States issued a joint statement on Friday confirming their desire to strengthen cooperation around artificial intelligence, including on AI safety and governance, and more broadly across many other technologies. He expressed his intention to cooperate. Issues such as developing standards for digital identity and putting pressure on platforms to protect human rights.
As we reported on Wednesday, this is the outcome of the sixth (and likely final) meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The TTC has been holding meetings since 2021 to rebuild transatlantic relations, which were damaged by President Trump's inauguration. .
Given the US presidential election later this year and the likely return of Donald Trump to the White House, how much EU-US cooperation in AI and other strategic technology areas will materialize in the coming years? It is not clear whether it will.
However, under the current political configuration across the Atlantic, there is a growing desire to promote closer collaboration on a range of technology issues. There is also a mutual desire to have this message heard, which is the genesis of today's joint statement, which in itself will probably lead to a program of cooperation rather than destructive opposition at the time of the election. It's also a broader appeal to voters on both sides to make a choice.
AI dialogue
In a section of the joint statement focused on AI, filed under the heading “Advancing Transatlantic Leadership in Critical and Emerging Technologies,” the pair said they would “advance a risk-based approach to artificial intelligence and our commitment to improving safety.” We will reconfirm our efforts.” , secure and reliable AI technology.”
“We encourage advanced AI developers in the United States and Europe to accelerate the adoption of the Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems, which complements their respective governance and regulatory systems. ,” the statement reads, citing a series of risks. Recommendations based on, emerging from last year's G7 discussions on AI.
The main development of the 6th TTC meeting appears to be a promise between the EU and US AI regulators, the European AI Secretariat and the US AI Safety Association, to set up what they call a “dialogue”. The aim is to foster deeper collaboration between AI institutions, with a particular focus on promoting the sharing of scientific information between each AI research ecosystem.
Topics covered include benchmarks, potential risks, and future technology trends.
“This collaboration will contribute to advancing the implementation of the joint roadmap on assessment and measurement tools for trustworthy AI and risk management, which will appropriately minimize differences in each new AI governance and regulatory system. “It is essential for us to cooperate on interoperability and international standards,” the two countries continued.
The statement also flagged an updated list of key AI terms with “mutually accepted joint definitions,” another result of ongoing stakeholder consultation flowing from the TTC. ing.
Agreed definitions are an important piece of the puzzle that supports efforts towards AI standardization.
The third element of the EU-US agreement on AI will require research aimed at applying machine learning technology to useful use cases, such as improving medical outcomes, revitalizing agriculture, and tackling climate change. The aim is to cooperate to advance the project, with a particular focus on the following: sustainable development. In a briefing with journalists earlier this week, a senior European Commission official suggested that this element of the collaboration would focus on bringing AI advances to developing countries and the Global South.
“We are building on the promise of AI for sustainable development in our bilateral relations through joint research collaborations as part of the Executive Arrangement on Artificial Intelligence and Computing to Address Global Challenges in the Public Interest.” We are making progress,” the joint statement said. “The working group, jointly staffed by U.S. scientific institutions and European Commission ministries, will significantly improve the We've made progress. We're also making constructive progress in health and agriculture.”
Additionally, a summary document on AI-centered cooperation for the public good was published on Friday. According to the document, multidisciplinary teams from the EU and the US have spent more than 100 hours in scientific meetings over the past six months “discussing ways to advance the application of AI in ongoing projects and workstreams.”
“This cooperation is making positive progress in many areas, related to challenges such as energy optimization, emergency response, urban reconstruction, and extreme weather and climate forecasting.” I am adding. The EU and the US will continue to cooperate and publish innovative research around the world. This will unleash the power of AI to address global challenges. ”
According to the joint statement, there is an intention to expand cooperation activities in this area by adding more global partners.
“In the AI for Development Donor Partnership, we are partnering with the UK, Canada and Germany to accelerate and align foreign aid in Africa to help educators, entrepreneurs and the general public harness the potential of AI. “We will continue to explore opportunities with partners in the EU and the US,” the EU and the US said.
When it comes to platforms, an area where the EU has recently passed wide-ranging legislation (including laws such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act) that requires Big Tech companies to protect “information integrity”. Both sides are united in what they want. seriously.
The joint statement calls 2024 a “crucial year for democratic resilience” because elections will be held around the world. It also includes clear warnings about the threat posed by AI-generated information, with both countries warning that “the malicious use of AI applications, including the creation of harmful 'deepfakes', could lead to further proliferation and targeting.” “We share the concern that this poses new risks, including Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference.”
Additionally, we discuss a number of areas of ongoing EU-US cooperation on the governance of platforms and to support researchers' access to data, particularly for social risk research (as announced by the EU's DSA). It also includes a joint call for platforms to do more. legal requirements for large platforms).
Regarding electronic identity, the statement noted continued cooperation on standardization work and added: wallet. ”
Other areas of cooperation covered by the statement include clean energy, quantum, 6G, etc.