US declines to sign international declaration on artificial intelligence

The US refused to sign an “inclusive” and “sustainable” artificial intelligence declaration on Tuesday, as Washington criticised Europe for excessive AI regulation and warned China not to use the cutting-edge technology to tighten its grip on power.

The message, conveyed by US Vice-President J.D. Vance at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, was delivered at the first global meeting the Donald Trump administration has joined – with the characteristic disruption that has defined the new US government.

At the two-day summit, attended by some 1,500 participants from around 100 countries, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that AI’s immense power is concentrated in a few hands, without mentioning the US.

“While some companies and countries are entering a race for speed with unprecedented investments, most developing nations are falling by the wayside,” he said, adding that the concentration of AI know-how “threatens to exacerbate geopolitical divisions”.

Tuesday’s gathering laid bare significant divisions over the promise and regulation of AI, particularly given its potential to cure diseases and advance scholarship even as it takes humans out of the loop and further divides societies with inflammatory content and deepfakes.

Vance told the assembled national and tech industry leaders that excessive regulation “could kill a transformative sector just as it’s taking off”, calling on Europe to show “optimism rather than trepidation”.