Google’s president of global affairs Kent Walker has given a speech in Brussels offering some advice to European regulators on how he’d like to see them deal with AI. It touches on some familiar lobbying points: that AI could yield a scientific revolution; that Asia and the US could thrust ahead of Europe in their “urgency to be at the forefront of AI adoption” (i.e. light regulation); and a view on training issues that is unlikely to win favour within the creative industries.
Walker called for regulators to focus “on the real-world effects of AI”, which “requires us to oversee outputs, not inputs — to manage risks and consequences, not micromanage science”. While Walker was talking generally rather than specifically about copyright regulations, his plea for Europe to “take a hard look at outdated rules that could be slowing us down” will surely be taken as at least a partial reference to that. “We are committed to partnering to help Europe seize the moment…”
