EU tech chief sees AI code of conduct 'within weeks'

Intel, which employs 5,000 people in Ireland, predicts it will tap boom for AI chips

Wed, 31 May, 2023 - 17:38

Philip Blenkinsop

EU technology chief Margrethe Vestager has said she believed a draft code of conduct on artificial intelligence (AI) could be drawn up within weeks, allowing industry to commit to a final proposal "very, very soon".

Policymakers and many in industry have expressed concern about AI, and particularly content-creating generative AI such as ChatGPT, with some equating it to the risks posed by pandemics and nuclear war.

Ms Vestager said the US and the EU should push a voluntary code of conduct to provide safeguards while new laws are being developed.

"Generative AI is a complete game-changer," Ms Vestager, who is a vice president of the European Commission, told a news conference after a meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council.

"Everyone knows this is the next powerful thing. So within the next weeks, we will advance a draft of an AI code of conduct," she said, adding she hoped there would be a final proposal "very, very soon" that industry could sign up to.

The EU's AI Act, with rules on facial recognition and biometric surveillance, is still going through the legislative process.

"In the best of cases, it will take effect in two and a half to three years' time. That is obviously way too late," said Vestager before the meeting in Sweden. "We need to act now."

Leaders of the G7 nations called earlier this month for the development of technical standards to keep AI "trustworthy", urging international discussions on topics such as governance, copyright, transparency, and the threat of disinformation.

Ms Vestager said there needs to be agreement on specifics, not just general statements, suggesting the EU and the US could help to drive the process.

"If the two of us take the lead with close friends, I think we can push something that will make us all much more comfortable with the fact that generative AI is now in the world and is developing at amazing speeds," she said.

Intel shares

Meanwhile, shares of Intel rose about 5% after the chipmaker's finance chief said the company is on track to hit the upper end of its second-quarter revenue forecast.

Semiconductor stocks have rallied over the past week after gaming and AI chip company Nvidia forecast quarterly revenue that stunned analysts, with the firm betting on the rapid adoption of AI tools.

"We're going to track at $12bn (€11.25bn) to $12.5bn as we close out the second quarter," said Intel finance chief David Zinsner.

Intel will be able to ride the AI wave as its foundry services could provide wafers to customers that have products for the AI market, said Mr Zinsner. The company last month posted its biggest quarterly loss in the first quarter as it ramped up production and investments in manufacturing plants.