US Urges G20 to Keep AI Regulation Light
Washington is promoting the Carolina Principles, which China has signed, according to a US official, even as technology chiefs differ over safeguards.
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The United States is pressing G20 members to avoid broad new artificial intelligence rules, promoting a lighter regulatory model as Washington competes with China for influence over global technology policy.
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told ministers in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Tuesday that new regulation should be reserved for problems unique to AI.
The proposed Carolina Principles also call on governments to invest in foundational research and expand commercial opportunities for emerging technologies.
“Policymakers do not need to approach each innovation in isolation and should not treat every emerging technology as a first-of-its-kind policy problem,” Kratsios said at the two-day G20 Innovation Ministerial.
Kratsios later said China had joined other G20 members in signing the principles. China did not immediately confirm his account, and Washington has not published the document.
The Trump administration is also urging countries not to create new regulatory bodies dedicated to AI, a White House official told Reuters.
That position broadly suits US technology companies seeking to avoid fragmented rules across markets. But executives addressing the meeting differed over how far governments should step back.
Google DeepMind Chief Executive Demis Hassabis urged G20 officials to establish safety tests for advanced AI systems. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued against restrictions on open-weight models, while SpaceX chief Elon Musk criticised European Union technology regulation as an impediment to innovation.
The debate comes as governments face increasingly tangible AI risks. A United Nations panel has warned that advances in the technology are moving faster than scientific understanding and policymaking. Recent cybersecurity incidents involving autonomous AI agents have also raised questions about whether current safeguards are keeping pace with model capabilities.
At the same time, Washington is watching the rapid improvement of Chinese open-weight models. These systems are increasingly competitive with proprietary American models and are gaining users outside China, complicating US efforts to keep global companies and governments anchored to American technology.
Vivek Chilukuri of the Center for a New American Security said that competition had increased pressure on Washington to ensure countries remained within the US technology ecosystem rather than turning to Chinese alternatives.
AI infrastructure was another point of contention. Musk called for countries outside China to develop more energy supplies for data centres, even as their electricity demands become a growing political issue in the United States.
The meeting concludes on Wednesday, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expected to appear alongside US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
