Nick Clegg Critiques EU AI Act: A 'Dog's Dinner' Built Before ChatGPT
Former Meta executive Nick Clegg told HumanX that AI labs cannot keep regulating themselves. He argued against Europe trying to copy the US and Chinese AI model, stating, "This idea that you can carry on marking your own homework for the next 10, 20 years, that ain’t going to happen."
Clegg, now a general partner at Hiro Capital, expressed a growing backlash against AI seen in cancelled data center projects. He urged for baseline standards of transparency, testing, and accountability for all, stating the technology's empowering nature contrasts with its centralizing, capital-intensive nature which concentrates power in the hands of few.
Clegg criticized the EU AI Act, arguing it was retrofitted after generative AI emerged, akin to "building a plane while it’s flying." He believes it could put European AI companies at a disadvantage due to diverse national data protection authorities and the application of GDPR, a pre-generative AI law.
Instead, Clegg proposes focusing on addressing known risks like bioweapons, cybersecurity, and human integration with AIs. He welcomed an AI incident hotline proposed by the US and China, stating, "You can mock it, but you’ve got to start somewhere."