OpenAI CEO Threatens Overregulation or Exits from Europe European Parliament Says Legislators Should Not Be "extorted"

On May 26th, it was reported that for several months, Sam Altman, CEO of artificial intelligence research company OpenAI, has been calling on legislators around the world to draft new rules governing this technology. But on Wednesday, he threatened that if the EU were to "over regulate", the company might withdraw from the EU

On May 26th, it was reported that for several months, Sam Altman, CEO of artificial intelligence research company OpenAI, has been calling on legislators around the world to draft new rules governing this technology. But on Wednesday, he threatened that if the EU were to "over regulate", the company might withdraw from the EU.

In the past week, Ultraman has traveled around Europe, meeting with politicians from France, Spain, Poland, Germany, and the UK to discuss the progress of ChatGPT and the future of artificial intelligence.

More than six months after OpenAI launched its artificial intelligence driven chat robot ChatGPT to the world, concerns about its potential sparked excitement and panic, leading to ongoing conflicts with regulatory agencies.

One place that Ultraman has not visited this week is Brussels, where EU regulators are working on the long-awaited EU AI bill, which may be the world's first set of rules for managing artificial intelligence. Two insiders said that Ultraman had cancelled his scheduled visit to Brussels.

Ultraman said in London on Wednesday: "The current draft EU artificial intelligence bill has excessive regulation, but we have heard that it will be withdrawn

However, EU lawmakers responsible for formulating the artificial intelligence bill have raised objections to Ultraman's statement. Dragos Tudorache, a member of the member of the European Parliament of Romania, said: "I don't think there will be any revision in the short term."

He added, "Nevertheless, we are pleased to invite Mr. Ultraman to parliament so that he can express his concerns and listen to the thoughts of European legislators on these issues

Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner responsible for internal markets, also criticized Ultraman's threat, stating that the draft rules were not intended for negotiation.

On Thursday, Ultraman will meet with leaders from multiple countries, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, and is expected to discuss in more detail how to regulate artificial intelligence.

Legislators should not be "extorted"

Kim van Sparrentak, a member of the member of the European Parliament of the Netherlands, also participated in the drafting of the EU AI bill. She said that she and other members of the parliament "should not be blackmailed by American companies".

"If OpenAI fails to comply with basic data governance, transparency and security requirements, then their system is not suitable for the European market," said Spaluntak.

By February, ChatGPT had set a record for the fastest user growth among all consumer applications in history. OpenAI first clashed with regulatory authorities in March, when Italian data regulator Garante shut down the application domestically and accused OpenAI of flouting European privacy rules. After the company established new privacy measures for users, ChatGPT was able to go back online.

At the same time, EU lawmakers have added new proposals to the AI bill, forcing any company using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to disclose any copyrighted materials used to train their systems.

EU lawmakers reached agreement on the draft bill earlier this month, and EU member states, the European Commission, and the European Parliament will finalize the final details of the bill.

Through the European Commission, individual member states such as France or Poland can also seek modifications before the bill may be passed later this year.

Make every effort to advance the plan

Although this legislation has been brewing for several years, it was only in the weeks leading up to the critical vote on these proposals that new provisions specifically targeting generative artificial intelligence tools were drafted.

Previously, there were reports that some lawmakers initially proposed a complete ban on using copyrighted materials to train generative artificial intelligence models, but this proposal was ultimately rejected and instead supported stricter transparency requirements.

Tudor Lache said, "These rules are mainly related to transparency, which ensures that artificial intelligence and the companies that build it are trustworthy. I don't see any company avoiding transparency

Nils Rauer, technical partner of PinsentMasons Law Firm, said that it was "not surprising" that Altman made the above remarks when legislators considered their proposals.

OpenAI is unlikely to abandon Europe, as the EU is too important economically, "he said. You cannot split a single market with a population of nearly 500 million and an economic scale of 15 trillion euros (approximately $16.51 trillion)

Altman said in Munich, Germany on Thursday that he had met with German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz.

Sergey Lagodinsky, a member of the member of the European Parliament of Germany, also participated in the legislation. He said that although Altman may be trying to promote his agenda among countries, the plan of Brussels to regulate this technology is "advancing in full swing".

Of course, there may be some modifications, "he said. But I don't think they will change the overall trajectory