Key facts
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will invite frontier AI labs to discuss risks and industry efforts to slow development.
- Von der Leyen will advocate for international collaboration on testing and evaluating frontier AI models.
- The EU has adopted landmark rules governing the use of AI.
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and xAI CEO Elon Musk have called for a slowdown in AI development.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to invite the main artificial intelligence companies to discuss industry efforts to impose a slowdown of AI development. The announcement is set to be made in her State of the European Union speech on Wednesday.
'I will invite the main frontier labs for a discussion on how we can support ongoing industry efforts to pace the frontier,' von der Leyen is set to say, according to a draft of her speech seen by POLITICO. Her comments follow warnings from several top tech executives in the past week about the need to 'pace the frontier' of AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown on Saturday, with backing from xAI CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.
Von der Leyen is not expected to explicitly assess these calls but stated that Europe is ready to 'support ongoing industry efforts.' She will also advocate for international collaboration on testing and evaluating frontier AI models, extending invitations to the U.K. and Canada, though she did not mention the U.S. and China, who are considered frontrunners in AI development. POLITICO previously reported that the EU and Canada are closely aligned on AI, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney scheduled to attend von der Leyen's speech.
Von der Leyen also stated that the European Union is opening the door for Canada to become the first associate member, a status that does not exist under the bloc's treaties. 'Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture in the international rules-based system,' von der Leyen said. 'We see the world with the same eyes: from AI to climate change, from the Arctic to geopolitics. And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defence, on raw materials and on supply chains. But above all ... Europe and Canada believe in democracy.'
Von der Leyen is also expected to state that Europe should focus on deriving value from AI rather than leading its development. The Commission will concentrate on five key sectors for AI value generation: health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, and defense and space.