US Urges G20 to Take Hands-Off Approach to AI Regulation

The United States has urged G20 members to take a hands-off approach to artificial intelligence regulation and avoid creating broad new rules for the rapidly evolving technology. US tech adviser Michael Kratsios, who is co-hosting a two-day meeting of G20 officials and industry leaders in North Carolina, proposed the “Carolina Principles”. Under the approach, countries would avoid introducing entirely new AI regulations and instead focus on rules for novel situations involving the technology. Kratsios argued that policymakers should not treat every emerging technology as a separate policy problem. China has also signed the principles, according to Kratsios.

The meeting comes amid growing debate over AI safety, regulation and the global race for technological leadership between the US and China. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called for safety testing of AI systems, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged countries not to restrict open-weight AI models. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticised European technology regulations and called for new energy sources to meet the growing power demands of AI data centres. The discussions also reflect concerns that AI development is advancing faster than governments and researchers can fully understand and regulate, even as Chinese open-weight models continue to gain ground against leading American AI systems.