PARIS: The UK and US have not signed an international agreement on artificial intelligence (AI) at a global summit in Paris, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

The summit on the future of artificial intelligence urged that the fast-moving new technology must be “open”, “ethical” and flanked by international governance, but the statement was not signed by Britain or the United States or key industry players.

The 61 signatories, including China, France, Germany and India, agreed it is a priority to ensure “AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy, taking into account international frameworks for all,” said the closing statement.

Downing Street said the UK “hadn’t been able to agree all parts of the leaders’ declaration” and would “only ever sign up to initiatives that are in UK national interests” — but has not spelt out which parts of the communique the UK objected to, as per the report from the BBC.

“You’d only ever expect us to sign up to initiatives that we judge to be in our national interest,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman told reporters.

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance warned against “excessive regulation” of artificial intelligence at a Paris summit on the technology, warning both European allies and rivals like China against tightening governments’ grip. “Excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative sector just as it’s taking off,” Vance told global leaders and tech industry chiefs in the opulent surroundings of the French capital’s Grand Palais.

He singled out the European Union’s Digital Services Act by name for criticism over “massive regulations it created about taking down content and policing so-called misinformation” that he said placed an unfair burden on American tech giants.

Vance also jabbed at China as one of several “authoritarian regimes” he said were looking to use AI for increased control of citizens at home and other countries 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.

Vance told world leaders that AI was “an opportunity that the Trump administration will not squander” and said “pro-growth AI policies” should be prioritised over safety. He said that this would require regulation which fosters AI development “rather than strangles it”. Vance added that leaders in Europe should especially “look to this new frontier with optimism, rather than trepidation”.

His comments appear to put him at odds with French President Emman­uel Macron, who defended the need for further regulation. “We need these rules for AI to move forward,” Macron said at the summit, according to the BBC.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2025