The European Union passed sweeping new artificial intelligence rules on Tuesday, which could restructure how businesses in Europe use AI and ban using technology in ways deemed “unacceptable”—and this, said executives at Meta and Amazon—will hold back innovation.
The new regulations mandate more transparency on “high-risk” uses of AI, such as for hiring and education. Meta’s AI chief Yann LeCun questions whether research and development in AI should be regulated, saying “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
He also said that he doesn’t agree with the worries that AI could soon surpass human intelligence—it’s not even close, he said. “But today, trying to figure out how to make future super-intelligent AI systems safe is like asking in 1925 ‘how do we make jet transport safe?’ And jet transport was not invented yet,” he said.
Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer, Werner Vogels, also said that the AI rules could suppress innovation and there are a wide variety of situations where AI risks are minimal. “Let’s make sure that the regulatory requirements that we put in place, companies — not just the largest company but every company in Europe—can actually implement,” he said.
