Tech chief says EU can fend off rogue AI risk: Report

There are global concerns following incidents at OpenAI ‌and Anthropic, and fears have arisen that rogue AI agents may venture beyond human control.

European Union rules on AI use are more than capable of dealing with rogue agents, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.

There are global concerns following incidents at OpenAI ‌and Anthropic, and fears have arisen that rogue AI agents may venture beyond human control.

“We see that the safety and security of very capable models is a very hot ​topic internationally and we in Europe are well equipped for that,” Virkkunen said in ⁠an interview with Reuters on Friday.

The EU’s AI Act, which regulates based on the level of risk, is among the world’s strictest AI regulations. It was adopted two years ago.

Virkkunen dismissed critics who claim the bloc’s AI rules are outdated.

Related: Anthropic chief urges slowdown in AI development to safer pace

“We have our AI Act in place and the AI Act covers the whole life cycle ​of these models,” she said, adding that regulators are providing guidance to companies on how to evaluate their models, factoring in recommendations from 60 AI experts.

The European Commission requested information in late August from more than 30 unidentified AI companies, asking for details of their safety and security measures.

Virkkunen said she is now assessing the responses.

Cointelegraph reported Sept.13 that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a blog post the speed of AI development is too fast and that left unchecked it may “outrun our ability to understand and control these systems.”

He said that AI’s blistering advance was being driven by its own increasing ability to build the next generation of AI, or recursive self-improvement.

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