G7 Leaders Unite on AI Policy Amid Crypto Criticism

The G7 has agreed to work towards the adoption of interoperable regulatory and technical standards for AI.

Leaders of the G7 group of countries discussed AI regulation when they met in Hiroshima on Friday. In a joint statement on Saturday, they stressed the importance of international discussions on AI governance, noting the need for interoperability between AI governance frameworks.

G7 Leaders Commit to Common Vision for AI Policy

In a joint communiqué, the G7 leaders stated the need to align their counties’ vision on AI regulation.

They alluded to the rapid growth and accessibility of generative AI models like ChatGPT, which recently launched in app form.

World leaders in Hiroshima recognized “the need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI, which is increasingly prominent across countries and sectors.”

While they recognized that approaches and policy instruments varied across G7 members, they said that they shared a “common vision and goal of trustworthy AI.” As well as committing to work on shared technical standards, they agreed that relevant ministers would set up an AI working group by the end of this year.

The group will discuss how to safeguard intellectual property rights, promote transparency, and protect against disinformation. 

EU Moves Ahead With AI Regulation

The latest agreement follows news that the European Union (EU) has moved one step closer to passing dedicated AI regulations. The EU is sometimes referred to as the “eighth member” of the G7. Several EU officials have been present at the Hiroshima summit.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament adopted a draft negotiating mandate for the AI Bill. The EU will now begin the task of legislating. The bill seeks to expand citizens’ rights to contest decisions made by AI and demand transparency of AI systems. 

The anticipated bill will also ban certain applications of AI. 

For example, it is expected to prohibit the use of predictive policing systems. That is AI models that attempt to identify criminal activity based on profiling, location, or past criminal behavior.

Biometric identification systems will also be banned from public places and the indiscriminate scraping of biometric data from social media or CCTV footage will be outlawed.

US President Biden Offers No Respite for Crypto Traders

Also speaking at the G7 Summit, US President Biden commented on budget negotiations. While stating that the spending proposal between the Republican Party through a bipartisan proposal had not been confirmed.

The President called the Republican proposal “simply unacceptable.” President Biden further added that:

“I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistants at risk.”

At this time, no bipartisan agreement has been confirmed. President Biden will head back to the United States On Sunday to continue budget negotiations.

However, it appears evident that the President has no plans to outline any spending benefits that protect or benefit the crypto sector.