EU must take action against AI, says Doherty

Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has said that international action is needed against the threats posed by advanced artificial intelligence.

The Dublin MEP was speaking following comments from European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, who said that the EU, United States and China need to work on an international resolution on the threats posed by AI.

This week, it was reported that a top safety researcher at Anthropic has warned AI is advancing so quickly that he believes there is a greater than 10% chance it “could kill all humans” within the next decade.

Doherty has submitted a formal question calling on the Commission to develop an international protocol for responding to serious incidents involving frontier AI systems.

She also called for the issue to be placed on the agendas of the G7, G20 and OECD, with the aim of securing agreement between international partners, including the United States and China.

Doherty said she welcomed the move by the European Commission to seek international guidance on the issue.

“No government can tackle the risks posed by the world’s most powerful AI systems alone,” she said.

“The technology is developing at extraordinary speed, and governments must act just as quickly,” Doherty stated.

“We need to bring the United States, China and other international partners to the table and agree clear global rules, including a shared plan for responding when something goes seriously wrong.

Doherty said that the risk posed by AI was a “global challenge requiring global co-operation. The EU must now turn today’s words into action.”