Big Tech split? Google to sign EU’s AI guidelines despite Meta snub

In this articleGOOGL your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT VCG | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesGoogle on Wednesday said it will sign the European Union's guidelines on artificial intelligence, which Meta previously rebuffed due to concerns they could stifle innovation.In a blog post, Google said it planned to sign the code in the hope that it would mote European citizens' access to advanced new AI tools, as they become available.Google's endorsement comes after Meta recently said it would refuse to sign the code over concerns that it could constrain European AI innovation."mpt and widespread deployment is important," Kent Walker, president of global affairs of Google, said in the post, adding that embracing AI could boost Europe's economy by 1.4 trillion euros ($1.62 trillion) annually by 2034.The European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, published a final iteration of its code of practice for general-purpose AI models, leaving it up to companies to decide if they want to sign.The guidelines lay out how to meet the requirements of the EU AI Act, a landmark law overseeing the nology, when it comes to transparency, safety, and security.However, Google also flagged fears over the potential for the guidelines to slow nological advances around AI."We remain concerned that the AI Act and Code risk slowing Europe's development and deployment of AI," Kent Walker, president of global affairs of Google, said in the post Wednesday."In particular, departures from EU copyright law, steps that slow apvals, or requirements that expose trade secrets could chill European model development and deployment, harming Europe's competitiveness."Earlier this month, Meta declined to sign the EU AI code of practice, calling it an overreach that would "stunt" the industry."Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI," Joel Kaplan, Meta's global affairs chief, wrote in a LinkedIn post at the time. "This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act."watch now2:0002:00AI chip startup Rebellions looks to raise up to $200 million ahead of IPOSquawk Box Europe