Why did the UK not sign up to the Global AI Agreement?

World leaders and top tech executives attended the AI Summit in Paris to discuss how to manage the risks of artificial intelligence.

However, the UK and US walked away without signing a global declaration on AI. Both countries said the agreement fell short of what was needed.

US vice president JD Vance warned against excessive regulation.

He said: “Too much regulation could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.”

The declaration was also rejected by the UK, which raised concerns over national security and global governance.

A UK government spokesperson said: “The declaration didn’t provide enough practical clarity on global governance and [didn’t] sufficiently address harder questions around national security.”

Experts have repeatedly warned of the risks posed by AI, from job losses and data breaches to more serious threats like bioweapons and rogue AI bots.

Carsten Jung, head of AI at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), said:

“This isn’t science fiction.”

He explained that AI could enable hackers, help terrorists, and potentially spiral out of control on the internet.

For some experts, unregulated AI is a growing concern for vulnerable communities. Those without regular internet access are the most at risk, said Dr Jen Schradie, an associate professor at Sciences Po University.

She said: “For a lot of us, we’re on our phones all the time and we want that to be less.

“But for a lot of people who don’t have regular, consistent [internet] access or have the skills and even the time to post content, those voices are left out of everything.”

Schradie said these communities are missing from the data AI relies on, which means the technology’s solutions may ignore their needs.

Michael Birtwistle from the Ada Lovelace Institute said unregulated AI should be viewed like unregulated food or medicine.

He said: “When we think about food, about medicines and aircraft, there is an international consensus that countries specify what they think their people need.”

Instead, AI products are being rushed directly to market with little risk assessment.

Some warn this could cause serious problems down the line.

ChatGPT, for example, became the fastest-growing app in history when it hit 100 million users in just two months.

According to Jung, AI’s global nature demands a global solution.

He said: “If we all race ahead and try to come first as fast as possible and are not jointly managing the risks, bad things can happen.”