GitHub CEO On Why Open Source Developers Should Be Exempt From the EU's AI Act (techcrunch.com)
- Reference: 0170262209
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/23/02/03/2134211/github-ceo-on-why-open-source-developers-should-be-exempt-from-the-eus-ai-act
- Source link: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/03/github-ceo-on-why-open-source-developers-should-be-exempt-from-the-eus-ai-act/
> GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says that open source developers [1]should be made exempt from the European Union's (EU) proposed new artificial intelligence (AI) regulations , saying that the opportunity is still there for Europe to lead on AI. "Open source is forming the foundation of AI in Europe," Dohmke said onstage at the EU Open Source Policy Summit in Brussels. "The U.S. and China don't have to win it all." The regulations in question come via [2]The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), first proposed [3]back in April 2021 to address the growing reach of AI into our every day lives. The rules would govern AI applications based on their perceived risks, and would effectively be the first AI-centric laws introduced by any major regulatory body. The European Parliament is set to vote on a draft version of the AI Act in the coming months, and depending on what discussions and debates follow, it could be adopted by the end of 2023.
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> As many will know, open source and AI are intrinsically linked, given that collaboration and shared data are pivotal to developing AI systems. As well-meaning as the AI Act might be, critics argue that it [4]could have significant unintended consequences for the open source community, which in turn could hamper the progress of AI. The crux of the problem is that the Act would likely create legal liability for general purpose AI systems (GPAI), and bestow more power and control to the big tech firms given that independent open source developers don't have the resources to contend with legal wrangles. [...] "The AI act is so crucial," Dohmke said onstage. "This policy could well set the precedent for how the world regulates AI. It is foundationally important. It is important for European technological leadership, and for the future of the European economy itself. It must be fair and balanced to the open source community."
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> Dohmke said that the AI Act can bring "the benefits of AI according to the European values and fundamental rights," adding that lawmakers have a big part to play in achieving this. "This is why I believe that the open source developers should be exempt from the AI act," he said. "Because ultimately this comes down to people. The open source community is not a community of entities. It's a community of people and the compliance burden should fall on entities, it should fall on companies that are shipping products. OSS developers are often just volunteers, many of them are working two jobs. They are hobbyists and scientists, academics and doctors, professors and university students all alike, and they don't usually stand to profit from their contributions. They certainly don't have big budgets, or their own compliance department."
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/03/github-ceo-on-why-open-source-developers-should-be-exempt-from-the-eus-ai-act/
[2] https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/
[3] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/21/04/21/2030211/europe-proposes-strict-rules-for-artificial-intelligence
[4] https://news.slashdot.org/story/22/09/06/152248/the-eus-ai-act-could-have-a-chilling-effect-on-open-source-efforts-experts-warn
US lobbyists in Brussels (Score:2)
Github is a US company, they should not lobby the EU.
Re: (Score:1)
Github is a US company, they should not have to comply with EU rules or laws.
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I am personally very ok with anyone on the planet sending interesting arguments to fuel the public debate. We need best advice from competent people to guide the politicians, who are usually trained in economics and law and rarely come from an engineering background. As long as the arguments in the lobbying effort emphasize what is good for the society in general, it's fine. If it also happens to be good for his business it is not a problem. Others from other businesses will show up and present other argume
Re: (Score:2)
"Is Mack a US truck maker since it was purchased by Volvo? Is Volvo a European company now that it is owned by a Chinese fund?"
Only Volvo Personvagnar was sold off from the Volvo Group to the chinese fund. The rest of Volvo Group, including Lastvagnar, Specialty Vehicles, Heavy and Marine motor development and production departments for example, are not.
Fairly important distinction to keep in mind in regards to discussing EU policy.
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They may be a US company (aka Microsoft), but they do have a stake in the EU to lobby as they also have offices/staff and business there.
Github also has a vested interest in protecting their user base in the EU and having to deal with legal requests or monitoring open source projects is going to be a massive burden on them to comply with. So doubtful they want to be policing all of Github in the EU and any devs in the EU that use the platform to ensure laws are not being broken.
a collection of terrible ideas (Score:2)
If open source will form the foundation of AI in Europe, the open source should be the PRIMARY target of EU regulation on AI, not be exempt from it. Apparently, the view here is that regulations are intended to pick winners and losers, not to be a benefit to society. And what's wrong with accountability? The last thing needed is to exempt certain developers so that they compete more easily while not being liable for what their negligence might cause.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree with your conclusion that this is an absolutely terrible idea but I have a different take.
1. If this Act is implemented companies will just open source their AI to get around such limitations. That's not solving the problem.
2. Whether AI source is open or closed is irrelevant. A "bad actor" is a bad actor, whether that be the AI systems themselves, or entities such as governmental misuse of it -- the availability of source doesn't changed that.
Good laws in respective countries need to be followed