Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, have expressed their support for the European Union's governance of artificial intelligence (AI) after engaging in discussions with European Commissioner Thierry Breton, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Commissioner Breton revealed that he and Zuckerberg were both aligned regarding the EU's regulation of AI, which is currently in the final stages of negotiation.
EU's Approach to AI
They both agree on the bloc's risk-based approach and various measures, such as watermarking. Altman also expressed his agreement with the EU's approach to AI, acknowledging the institution's foresight and commitment to addressing the issue on a global scale.
Altman further conveyed OpenAI's enthusiasm to cooperate and comply with the European market, stating, "We look forward to working with you to be running well in advance and offering a European service in compliance with the European market."
OpenAI is renowned for developing ChatGPT, the viral chatbot that has generated significant interest in the capabilities of generative AI but also raised concerns industry-wide due to its rapid advancement.
Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs at Meta, voiced the company's support for the objectives of the AI Pact. While acknowledging the need for a thorough examination of the details, Clegg emphasized the importance of tech companies being transparent about their AI-related work and engaging collaboratively with industry, governments, and civil society.
Breton's Tech Tour
These discussions took place as part of Commissioner Breton's tour of technology companies. Following his visit to Meta, Breton expressed confidence in the company's preparedness to comply with Europe's stringent content moderation regulations.
However, he also mentioned that Meta has agreed to undergo a stress test of its systems in the coming month to ensure full compliance.
Zuckerberg committed to participating in a test in mid-July to evaluate Meta's handling of content moderation rules. Breton highlighted that Meta has a substantial workforce of around 1,000 individuals dedicated to implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union.
Additionally, Meta's CEO expressed interest in future tests to assess how the company's platforms will adhere to upcoming competition rules outlined in the EU's Digital Markets Act.
During the conversations, Commissioner Breton stressed the significance of allocating more resources to combat disinformation, specifically focusing on Russian disinformation aimed at Eastern European nations concerning the Ukrainian conflict.
The issue of child predators targeting youngsters on Meta's Instagram platform, as highlighted in a report by the Wall Street Journal, was also brought up and discussed.
Clegg characterized the exchange as positive and extended an invitation to Commissioner Breton's team to visit Meta's Dublin campus. The purpose of the visit would be to witness the stress-testing of their operational procedures prior to their implementation.
In a separate meeting, Breton discussed artificial intelligence with Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia Corp., the leading global chipmaker specializing in processors for AI.
Following the meeting, Huang expressed that it is highly likely that Nvidia will make investments in Europe.
During his visit, Breton also met with Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, and the new CEO, Linda Yaccarino. He emphasized the need for Twitter to allocate additional resources to address sensitive content to ensure compliance with the EU's regulations by the August deadline.
