On Sunday (Apr 30), the digital ministers of the Group of Seven advanced nations agreed that a “risk-based” approach to regulating artificial intelligence should be adopted, while European lawmakers work to introduce an AI Act to enforce regulations on emerging technologies like ChatGPT. The G7 ministers emphasized the need for such regulations to maintain an environment that fosters the development of AI technologies while also being based on democratic values, according to a joint statement issued at the end of their two-day meeting in Japan.
The G7 ministers acknowledged that different policy instruments may be necessary to achieve the goal of trustworthy AI among member countries. Nonetheless, the agreement is a significant step towards regulating AI in the face of privacy concerns and security risks.
European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager remarked that the conclusions of the G7 meeting indicate that there is widespread concern regarding AI governance. Governments have focused their attention on generative AI tools like ChatGPT, which was developed by Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI and has become the fastest-growing app in history since its launch in November.
In the ministerial statement, it was announced that future G7 discussions on generative AI would be convened, covering topics such as governance, intellectual property rights protection (including copyright), promoting transparency, and addressing disinformation, including information manipulation by foreign forces.
Italy, a G7 member, took ChatGPT offline last month to investigate potential violations of personal data rules. Although Italy lifted the ban on Friday, other European privacy regulators have initiated investigations in response to the move.
Ahead of the ministerial talks, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura expressed Japan’s desire to establish “agile or flexible governance” rather than preemptive regulation on AI technology, hoping to gain the agreement of the G7.
European Union lawmakers reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of the AI Act on Thursday, which includes copyright protection measures for generative AI. European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager stated that the bloc plans to reach political agreement on the AI copyright legislation, such as labelling obligations for AI-generated images or music, by the end of the year.
Despite concerns over AI development, French Minister for Digital Transition Jean-Noel Barrot emphasized that halting innovation is not the answer. Instead, democracies should set certain guardrails for AI development, while France plans to offer some exceptions to small AI developers under the upcoming EU regulation.
This year’s G7 chair, Japan, has adopted an accommodative approach toward AI developers, pledging to support the public and industrial adoption of AI.
During the G7 meeting, concerns over security risks posed by generative AI were acknowledged, alongside intellectual property issues. According to Japanese Digital Minister Taro Kono, generative AI can produce fake news and disruptive solutions if it is based on false data.
Top tech officials from the G7 member countries – Britain, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States – gathered in Takasaki, a city about 100km northwest of Tokyo, following earlier meetings of energy and foreign ministers this month.
Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima at the end of May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to discuss AI regulations with world leaders.
