Days after he said the EU’s over-regulation of AI could force the ChatGPT developer to cease operations on the continent, CEO Sam Altman has seemingly rolled back on his comments. Days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company might have to cease operations in Europe if the EU’s AI Act regulations passed in their current form, he has has seemingly rolled back on his comments. Despite recently telling US lawmakers he was in favor of regulating AI, when speaking to reporters in the UK earlier this week, Altman said he had “many concerns” about the EU’s AI Act and even accused the bloc of “over-regulating.” OpenAI is the Microsoft-backed firm that has developed the groundbreaking but somewhat controversial ChatGPT generative AI system. “We will try to comply, but if we can’t comply we will cease operating,” said Altman, according to a report from The Financial Times. The act is currently being debated by representatives of the EU’s Parliament, Council and Commission, and is due to be finalized next year. However, in a Tweet posted on Friday morning, Altman appeared to dial down the rhetoric, writing: “very productive week of conversations in europe about how to best regulate AI! we are excited to continue to operate here and of course have no plans to leave.” His earlier comments had angered lawmakers in Europe, with a number of politicians arguing that the level of regulation being proposed by the EU was necessary in order to deal with the concerns around generative AI. “Let’s be clear, our rules are put in place for the security and well-being of our citizens and this cannot be bargained,” EU Commissioner Thierry Breton told Reuters. “Europe has been ahead of the curve designing a solid and balanced regulatory framework for AI which tackles risks related to fundamental rights or safety, but also enables innovation for Europe to become a frontrunner in trustworthy AI,” he said. Altman believes regulating AI would be ‘wise’ Speaking at Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy, technology, and the law earlier this month, Altman told US lawmakers that regulation would be “wise” because people need to know if they’re talking to an AI system or looking at content — images, videos or documents — generated by a chatbot. When asked during the hearing whether citizens should be concernedC that elections could be gamed by large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 and its chatbot application ChatGPT, Altman said that it was one his “areas of greatest concern.” “The more general ability of these models to manipulate, persuade, to provide one-on-one interactive disinformation — given we’re going to face an election next year and these models are getting better, I think this is a significant area of concern,” he said. “I think we’ll also need rules and guidelines about what is expected in terms of disclosure from a company providing a model that could have these sorts of abilities we’re talking about. So, I’m nervous about it.” Related content opinion Can AI tools help reduce Zoom fatigue? When it comes to meetings, whether in person or on video, can anything make them better? Yes, but it’s not the technology. By Steven Vaughan-Nichols 06 May 2024 5 mins Augmented Reality Generative AI Zoom Video Communications news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans 03 May 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan 03 May 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans 02 May 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe