Sawt Falasteen - Vance puts Europe, China on notice over AI regulation

The remarks by Donald Trump's deputy to world leaders gathered in Paris to discuss AI did not put dozens of nations off signing a statement calling for efforts to flank the technology with regulation to make it "open" and "ethical".

"Excessive regulation... could kill a transformative sector just as it's taking off," Vance told global leaders and tech industry chiefs at the French capital's Grand Palais, calling on Europe to show "optimism rather than trepidation".

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had minutes earlier called for "collective, global efforts to establish governance and standards that uphold our shared values, address risks and build trust".

Future AI would need to be "free from biases" and "address concerns related to cybersecurity, disinformation and deepfakes" to benefit all, he added.

Modi co-hosted the summit with France's President Emmanuel Macron and his country will host the next meeting on advancing global rules.

Speaking after Vance, Macron said global rules were "the foundation, alongside innovation and acceleration, of what will allow AI to arrive and endure", in an apparent rebuff to the US vice president.

China, France, Germany and India were among 61 signatories who agreed it is a priority that "AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy" under "international frameworks".

AI should also be "sustainable for people and the planet," the text added.

The United States and Britain, two leading nations for AI development, signed.

- 'Authoritarian regimes' -

The US vice president took a thinly veiled shot at China, saying "authoritarian regimes" were looking to use AI for increased control of citizens at home and abroad.

"Partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in and seize your information infrastructure," Vance said.

Chinese startup DeepSeek rattled the AI sector last month by unveiling a sophisticated chatbot that it says was developed on a relatively low budget. A growing number of countries have taken steps to block the app from government devices over security concerns.

Vance also pointed to "cheap tech... heavily subsidised and exported by authoritarian regimes", referring to surveillance cameras and 5G mobile internet equipment widely sold abroad by China.

Speaking after Vance, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would push to mobilise 200 billion euros ($206 billion) for AI investments in Europe, with 50 billion euros to come from the EU's budget and the rest from "providers, investors and industry".

- OpenAI in Musk's sights -

Following Macron's trumpeting Monday of 109 billion euros of investment into French AI projects and a $500-billion US "Stargate" programme led by developer OpenAI, the vast figure underscored the resources needed to compete on the latest technological wave.

A consortium led by Elon Musk, a Trump ally and the world's richest man, has made a near $100 billion bid to buy ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported.

If successful, the deal would compound the tech influence of Musk, already boss of X, Tesla, SpaceX and his own AI developer xAI.

Sam Altman, the OpenAI chief who was to speak in Paris on Tuesday, responded to the reported offer with a dry "no thank you" on X.

Vance did not comment directly on the prospective deal.

He vowed to "ensure that American AI technology continues to be the gold standard worldwide", but also took aim at heavyweight tech "incumbents" who he said pushed for regulation that could strangle emerging challengers.

OpenAI chief Altman has in the past invited regulation, including because of the "existential risk" some computer scientists believe superhuman AI could pose to human survival.

Rather than only benefiting big players, "we believe, and we will fight for policies that ensure, that AI is going to make our workers more productive", Vance said.

"We expect that they will reap the rewards with higher wages, better benefits, and safer and more prosperous communities," he added.

O.Farraj--SF-PST