US, EU Sign Unprecedented AI Agreement

(Image: Ana Lanza/Unsplash) The White House announced Friday that it had signed an administrative agreement with the European Union focused on “responsible advancements” in artificial intelligence. The agreement, which builds on existing tech pacts, will prioritize international collaboration while directing AI resources toward specific industries.

The new US-EU Artificial Intelligence Collaboration agreement will bring AI experts together in an effort to address “major global challenges” under a joint development model. Although National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s statement doesn’t specify which specific challenges the AI Collaboration agreement seeks to address, it does share that the US and EU will collaboratively direct research efforts toward five areas of interest: extreme weather and climate forecasting, emergency response management, health and medicine, electric grid optimization, and agriculture optimization.

The AI Collaboration agreement carves a clear path forward for the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which in December identified AI risk management as a new goal. It also builds on the Declaration for the Future of the Internet, a political commitment among the US and 60 other countries that seeks to advance “a positive vision for the Internet and digital technologies.” Among the Declaration’s priorities are protecting human rights and digital privacy, promoting the free flow of information, and encouraging affordable web connectivity.

Some expect the signing of the US-EU Artificial Intelligence Collaboration agreement to herald the country’s first AI laws. (As of now, the US lacks any formal rules explicitly prohibiting the use of invasive or discriminatory AI.) Others anticipate that the agreement will bring forth new product offerings for software companies and government contractors, who could make a pretty penny auditing AI systems and ensuring they meet future legal requirements.

This isn’t the first time the White House has demonstrated an interest in guiding the development of AI. Introduced in October, the Biden administration’s “AI Bill of Rights” reminds both the private and public sectors to design and maintain AI systems that mitigate human biases and allow for individual privacy. While the document serves only as a nonbinding suggestion, several federal agencies have already established offices to implement and enforce its guidelines.

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