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Vance warns Europeans against heavy regulation

On Tuesday, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance warned Europeans that their excessive regulation of artificial intelligent could strangle technology. He also rejected content moderation and called it "authoritarian" censorship.

As AI technology has taken root, the mood towards it has changed. It is no longer a time of concern about safety, but rather one of geopolitical competition as countries compete to develop the next AI giant.

Vance was forthright when he outlined the Trump administration’s America First agenda. He said that the United States intended on remaining the dominant force in AI, and strongly opposed European Union’s much tougher regulatory approach.

Vance said at an AI summit held in Paris that "we believe excessive regulation of AI could kill a transformational industry".

He added: "We are very convinced that AI should be free of ideological bias, and that American AI won't be co-opted to become a tool used for authoritarian control."

Vance stated that the cost of complying with Europe's GDPR (Global Data Protection Regulation) online privacy regulations, also known as the EU's Online Privacy Rules, was endless for smaller companies.

The tech world is waiting to see if the Trump administration will ease up on recent antitrust enforcement, which has seen the U.S. sueing or investigating the biggest industry players.

Vance stated that the U.S. will champion American AI, which is developed by big players. He added, "Our laws keep Big Tech, Little Tech, and other developers on an equal playing field." He said that people should be sceptical when the incumbents ask for safety regulations which could cement their power.

Last year, European legislators approved the AI Act of the EU. It is the first comprehensive set rules for the technology in the world. Some capitals and tech giants want it to be applied leniently.

The first day of the summit, the host French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe's leaders to reduce red tape in order to allow AI to flourish across the region. This was after the Trump Administration's removal of AI safeguards revealed how different the strategies for AI are in the United States and Europe.

Vance leads the American delegation to the summit where nearly 100 countries, including China, India, and the United States, will gather to see if they can reconcile their competing national interests. (With additional reporting by Sudip K-Gupta; Florence Loeve, Brice Makini and Elizabeth Pineau. Writing by Richard Lough; Ingrid Melander. Editing by Catherine Evans.

(source: Reuters)