One size won't fit aIl, find common ground

The second AI Action Summit that was held in Paris this week emphasised the need to put innovation ahead of regulation, a carryover from the previous global effort at Britain's Bletchley Park to come to grips with the technology. The US position on regulation can be seen as an attempt to keep AI free of European red tape and cheap Chinese knock-offs. The US regulates AI through a dialogue with technology creators, and this approach has delivered the biggest breakthroughs. The EU has put consumer protection at the centre of its AI regulation, which favours ethical development but could stifle innovation. The Chinese are known to pour public resources into emerging technologies to bring down innovation costs. So far, the US has the compelling argument over AI innovation, and divergent views will have to yield more ground for harmonised regulation.

The Paris summit demonstrated that it will be pretty much impossible to keep AI free of ideology. This heightens geopolitical concerns, and restricts openness and inclusivity of a transformative technology. It will be easier to build a global consensus on making AI ethical, sustainable and safe. Efforts can be directed at these aspects to find an eventual agreement on the more contentious issues. As co-chair of the AI Action Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a pitch for governance and standards to uphold shared values and address risks. These are actionable points and can be taken forward even without an overarching agreement.

The global initiative must find common ground before anti-proliferation begins to bite. Commercial co-development is likely to dilute strategic interests but local safeguards on job dislocation will be necessary. Competition will drive AI development only if the tech gains the confidence of the people. Market rules are easier to harmonise since they deal with risk mitigation. Compliance costs could be a burden for innovators who are vital to democratising AI. This is a large area for common guard rails to come up.