Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Tursky is critical of China’s requirement that artificial intelligence may only act in the interests of the People’s Republic: “AI must not follow any state-imposed ideology,” he writes in a letter to the EU Commission.
Digitization State Secretary Florian Tursky (ÖVP) is concerned about China’s plans to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). “China’s announcement that it will regulate AI on the basis of ideological standards is dangerous in terms of democratic politics. AI must not follow any state-specified ideology,” Tursky said on Thursday after China’s Internet regulator announced that AI content had to be in line with the country’s basic ideological values.
“This would result in Chinese AI systems coming onto the market in Europe, which have the ideological footprint of the Chinese Communist Party and would have to be approved by the Chinese regulator after ideological scrutiny,” the secretary of state warned in a statement. Tursky sees an “enormous threat to our society and national security.” He turned to the EU Commission.
China’s Internet regulator wants to impose special rules on companies when introducing AI. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said on Tuesday that it supports the development and application of AI and encourages reliable software and data resources. But the AI content would have to be in line with the country’s core socialist values. Providers are responsible for the data and face fines and criminal investigations if they do not comply with the rules.
“If this new Chinese regulation comes and is implemented, I believe it is necessary to exclude AI systems created in China from the EU market and to ban them in Europe,” demanded the Secretary of State for Digitization. Tursky wrote to the EU Commission. He called on the Commission to “immediately ensure early implementation of AI regulation such as the AI Act”. He urged them to hurry. “We cannot wait until early 2025 for EU regulation. By then, the power has already multiplied and countless AI algorithms would be on the European market without knowing their content and direction.” In addition, Tursky announced that he would hold talks with all parties to clarify an Austrian approach to existing EU regulation.
EU AI Act delayed
Two years ago, the EU Commission presented a first draft law to protect citizens from the risks of AI. Because of the rapid development of this Technology however, this is a challenge. Generative AI like ChatGPT has partially overtaken the process. This will likely delay the passage of the law.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently spoke out in favor of a realignment in relations with China. Future relations with China would have to be sensitive high technology-Fields such as microelectronics, quantum computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence biotechnology be redefined. “If dual use cannot be ruled out or human rights could be affected, we must take a clear line when it comes to whether investments or exports are in the interest of our own security,” stressed von der Leyen during a visit to Beijing.
Italy temporarily banned the use of ChatGPT in March. The reason given was the restriction of the processing of data from Italian users by OpenAI, the US company that developed and manages the ChatGPT platform. Tursky spoke out against a ban.
(WHAT)