UK appears not to have signed leaders’ declaration at AI summit

The UK appears not to have signed a leaders’ declaration at the climax of the AI Action Summit in Paris.

There had been reports that the UK would not sign the declaration after the US reportedly raised concerns about the wording, which is said to include references to “sustainable and inclusive AI”.

Downing Street would not comment on “live” discussions in Paris as reports from the summit indicated the UK and US refused to back the statement.

But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters at Westminster: “We’ll only ever sign up to initiatives that are in the UK’s national interests.”

The spokesman said the Government has “worked with the French throughout this process” and “they remain one of our closest partners in all areas of AI”.

World leaders, tech executives, civil society representatives and academics have been in talks for two days in the French capital over the current progress and future direction of the technology.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chose not to attend the summit although Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has been in Paris, where he said he would speak to international partners about cementing the UK’s position as an “AI pioneer”.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance urged Europe to have a light-touch approach to regulation of AI in order to foster innovation, but also warned international partners against doing deals with “authoritarian regimes” around the technology.

That appeared to be at odds with French President Emmanuel Macron, who used his role as host of the summit to call for greater international cooperation on the technology but also “smart regulation”, saying there was a “need for rules” to ensure the safe development of AI tools.

Mr Vance said that too much regulation of AI could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”, and urged Europe to “look at this new frontier with optimism, rather than trepidation”.

While saying the US was open to working with others on AI, Mr Vance appeared to urge other nations not to work with China on AI.

“Some authoritarian regimes have stolen and used AI to strengthen their military intelligence and surveillance capabilities, capture foreign data and create propaganda to undermine other nations’ national security,” he said.

“I want to be clear, this administration will block such efforts full stop.”

He added: “And I would also remind our international friends here today that partnering with such regimes, it never pays off in the long term, from CCTV to 5G equipment, we’re all familiar with cheap tech in the marketplace that’s been heavily subsidised and exported by authoritarian regimes.

“But as I know and I think some of this, some of us in this room have learned from experience, partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in and seize your information infrastructure. Should a deal seem too good to be true?

“Just remember the old adage that we learned in Silicon Valley – if you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.”

One industry expert said the UK’s apparent decision not to sign the declaration would “undercut” its reputation as a global leader in the AI sector.

Andrew Dudfield, head of AI at fact-checking charity Full Fact, said: “By refusing to sign today’s international AI Action Statement the UK Government risks undercutting its hard-won credibility as a world leader for safe, ethical and trustworthy AI innovation.

“Fact checkers around the world are working hard to put AI at the heart of our efforts to improve the online information environment, but we need bolder government action to protect people from corrosive AI-generated misinformation that can damage public health and disrupt democracy at unprecedented speed and scale.

“Ministers cannot afford to let the existing patchwork of policies continue, leaving critical decisions about how to define, label and handle misleading AI-generated information up to the tech companies themselves, particularly as the UK is still developing its policies and risks falling behind.”