[HN Gopher] OpenAI CEO's threat to quit EU draws lawmaker backlash
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       OpenAI CEO's threat to quit EU draws lawmaker backlash
        
       Author : mfiguiere
       Score  : 25 points
       Date   : 2023-05-25 20:21 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.reuters.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.reuters.com)
        
       | pkaye wrote:
       | Does OpenAI have all the technology to implement the EU AI
       | regulations?
        
       | gumballindie wrote:
       | One can only hope. What was he even doing talking to so many
       | government leaders? Did he imagine they'd all fall for cheap fud
       | and embrace copyright theft overnight?
        
       | afpx wrote:
       | Slow down progress for 5.8 billion people so that 400 million
       | feel protected.
        
         | lnxg33k1 wrote:
         | It's people that goes bankrupt for some medical procedure, that
         | makes their kids get shot at school for some freedom fetish,
         | and with a insane wealth hunting culture, as a european I would
         | hardly care about the needs of americans or the rest of child
         | employing wastelands
        
       | exeldapp wrote:
       | Sounds like his talking backfired.
       | 
       | "We need to regulate AI! No, not that much!"
       | 
       | There's no way OpenAI will quit EU and leave it for competitors
       | to take, easy bluff to call. The whole thing makes it seem like
       | the desire for AI-related regulation isn't ethics motivated and
       | is instead only trying to make it harder for competition to
       | start.
        
         | skybrian wrote:
         | Bard isn't available in the EU or Canada, so there's one
         | competitor they don't need to worry about. That doesn't seem to
         | be a bluff?
         | 
         | Perhaps people will learn to use VPN's like some US folks did
         | for cryptocurrency exchanges? Or maybe it will be a boost for
         | an open source project that gets a reputation for reliability.
         | (Well, reliable for an AI chatbot, which is not very reliable
         | by most standards.)
        
           | rlayton2 wrote:
           | For all of Microsoft's flaws, they typically _are_ good at
           | working with regulators and ticking the boxes needed to get
           | into a market like EU. It 's unsurprising that Bard isn't
           | there yet, as the whole field has moved at "faster than large
           | corp/government" speeds but I don't imagine MS will stay out
           | of those markets for long.
        
         | jacquesm wrote:
         | Precisely, it's a very transparent attempt at regulatory
         | capture. Utterly disgusting.
        
         | usernew wrote:
         | What exactly does "quit EU" mean. They make an app that
         | connects over the internet. Anyone including businesses, are
         | free to use their money how they see fit by paying for a
         | service that runs in a another country.
         | 
         | All the EU can do here is get rid of the business and
         | infrastructure presence of this company in the EU. Getting rid
         | of jobs and tax revenue. They can also do a China and prosecute
         | their own citizens for trying to access things they want on the
         | internet.
         | 
         | There doesn't need to be Any "AI-related regulation." There's
         | nothing specific or magical or new about "AI" that's not
         | covered by current law. What it does look like to me, is the
         | government couldn't press some authoritarian laws, so they
         | slapped "AI" on it to mislead and misdirect their voters.
         | 
         | Nothing backfired, it wasn't a shot or a bluff. It was a
         | statement that if they pass draconian laws, their citizens will
         | have to buy the product online with their visa card without
         | paying VAT.
         | 
         | Funnily enough, the EU guy who is leading this and doubling
         | down, is Romanian. I've had some friends from that country and
         | been there a few times. It's not a place I would think of when
         | I think honest regulatory body, ethics, or bleeding edge
         | technology. It definitely is a place I think of when I imagine
         | a peacock puffing its feathers, a tiny monkey hitting it's
         | chest, and a drunk idiot with low IQ doubling down till the
         | grave.
        
       | june_twenty wrote:
       | Altman seems inexperienced for this type of role. I guess he
       | didn't really expect OpenAI to be the leader of the AI race.
       | 
       | Hopefully strong competition comes along soon.
        
       | meghan_rain wrote:
       | Regulatory capture
        
       | pipes wrote:
       | If the wheel was invented today we'd ban it before it put sedan
       | chair workers at risk.
        
       | jacquesm wrote:
       | That bluff deserves to be called.
        
         | umeshunni wrote:
         | In both directions
        
           | jacquesm wrote:
           | I'm perfectly fine with that. It's not as if OpenAI is going
           | to be the sole supplier even if they have a head start today.
        
             | peyton wrote:
             | These models are useful enough that people are fine
             | accessing them through VPNs. It doesn't seem like a big
             | deal to geoblock the EU.
        
       | diebeforei485 wrote:
       | EU regulations are basically a full employment program for VPN
       | engineers.
        
       | leobg wrote:
       | I'm wondering if OpenAI will even be still relevant once this
       | legislation is in place.
       | 
       | I'm not convinced that they won't. But I think it's also not a
       | certainty anymore, with all these amazing breakthroughs coming
       | out every week or so.
        
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       (page generated 2023-05-25 23:01 UTC)