Over 160 executives from global tech companies have penned an open letter to European Union (EU) lawmakers, urging them to carefully consider regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) that do not hinder industries or markets. The executives, representing companies such as Renault, Meta , Cellnex, and Berenberg, expressed concerns about the proposed EU AI bill, highlighting potential risks to competitiveness and innovation in the region. They specifically warned about the strict regulation of generative AI tools, which could lead to liability risks and high compliance costs for companies developing such technology.
On June 14. two weeks prior to the letter, the European Parliament passed the original EU AI Bill, which included provisions mandating the disclosure of AI-generated content by tools like ChatGPT and other measures targeting illegal content. The current version of the law also intends to prohibit certain AI services and products, including biometric surveillance, social scoring systems, predictive policing, "emotion recognition," and untargeted facial recognition systems. Negotiations among parliament members will be conducted to finalize the detachment sails before the bill becomes law, allowing tech companies an opportunity to advocate for more lenient measures.
The letter was issued shortly after Microsoft's president visited Europe to discuss AI regulation with regulators. In May, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also met with European regulators in Brussels, cautioning against the potential negative impact of excessive regulation on the AI industry . EU technology leaders have publicly called for collaboration between the EU and the US to establish a voluntary "artificial intelligence code of conduct" while lawmakers finalize more permanent measures. In March, over 2.600 tech industry leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk, published an open letter calling for a temporary moratorium on further AI development and advocating for regulations.
