US Vice President J.D. Vance recently delivered a 15-minute speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris, criticizing the European Union’s (EU) digital regulations and data protection policies. Vance’s main target was the Digital Service Act, which he claimed would lead to widespread censorship in the EU’s digital space.
In his speech, Vance emphasized that while ensuring the internet is a safe space is important, it is a different matter altogether to restrict access to information that a government deems to be misinformation. He urged the EU to repeal its regulations, calling the moderation of online content “authoritarian censorship.”
Vance also expressed concerns over the EU’s plans to regulate artificial intelligence, warning that excessive regulation would stifle the technology’s potential. He claimed that the US is a leader in AI and will not allow its technology to be used for authoritarian censorship.
Vance did not sign a joint statement from the Paris AI summit, which emphasized the need for AI to be inclusive, open, ethical and safe. He also warned against collaborating with authoritarian regimes that use cheap technology to infiltrate and manipulate information infrastructure.
Notably, Vance did not address the issue of mass surveillance and data collection by US intelligence agencies, as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013. It is unclear if there have been any significant changes to this practice since then.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was not mentioned in Vance’s speech and she had delivered a speech earlier in the day, calling for a “European spirit.” The EU plans to invest 200 billion euros in AI in the coming years, with 50 billion euros coming directly from the EU and the remaining 150 billion from private investors. The US has promised to invest 500 billion dollars, with Vance mentioning a potential 700 billion dollar investment by 2028.