Google on Wednesday said it would join the likes of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and sign the EU’s set of recommendations for the most powerful artificial intelligence models that has been rebuffed by Meta.
The European Union this month published long-delayed recommendations for a code of practice that would apply to the most advanced AI models such as Google’s Gemini, in a code of practice.
The announcement came as Brussels resists pressure from the industry and the United States to delay the enforcement of sweeping rules, who warn they could hurt the growing sector in Europe.
“We will join several other companies, including US model providers, in signing” the code, said Google’s president of global affairs Kent Walker.
The code was published just weeks before the August 2 start of the compliance period on complex models known as general purpose AI — systems that have a vast range of functions.
Walker said Google would provide feedback, and warned the rules “risk slowing Europe’s development and deployment of AI”.
“Departures from EU copyright law, steps that slow approvals, or requirements that expose trade secrets could chill European model development and deployment, harming Europe’s competitiveness,” Walker added.
OpenAI and French AI startup Mistral have said they would sign the code, but Meta — a vocal critic of the EU’s digital rules — said it would not follow suit.
“This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act,” Meta’s chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan said in a LinkedIn post this month.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta and the EU have locked horns over a range of issues, the most recent over the EU’s political advertising rules.
The US tech titan said it would ban such advertising instead of applying EU rules.
Dozens of Europe’s biggest companies including France’s Airbus and Germany’s Lufthansa urged the EU this month to hit pause on the AI rules, warning against steps that could put the bloc behind in the global AI race.
