US senator Ted Cruz demands probe into European influence on ‘onerous’ AI policy

London — Republican senator Ted Cruz has urged US officials to investigate whether European governments have tried to unduly influence the country’s laws regarding artificial intelligence (AI).

Britain hosted the world’s first global AI safety summit last year, bringing tech executives, leaders and academics together to discuss a co-ordinated approach on regulation. Some countries have since set up AI safety institutes, which have continued to share expertise across borders.

Cruz, who ran against Donald Trump in the Republican Party’s 2016 race for presidential nominee, is among the party’s most influential senators and has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden’s approach to tech regulation.

In a letter addressed to US attorney-general Merrick Garland, dated November 21 and made public on Monday, Cruz said European governments had imposed heavy-handed regulations on American AI companies abroad, and were now trying to steer the direction of AI regulations at home.

Cruz described these regulations as “onerous” and a product of the “radical left”.

“While the Biden-Harris administration may not want to inform the American people of just how closely they are collaborating with foreign governments, at the very least the American people have a right to know what foreign actors are trying to impose these radical regulations on American companies,” Cruz wrote.

The EU has led the global charge for regulations tailored to AI technology, having this year passed the AI Act, the world’s first sweeping set of laws governing the technology.

Cruz cited a memorandum of understanding the US issued with the UK in April, as well as a treaty signed by the Biden administration and several European governments, as examples of foreign influence over domestic AI policy.

Cruz also said the Centre for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence (GovAI), a UK-based nonprofit organisation which recently co-hosted a summit for AI policy experts in San Francisco, hadn’t followed the law by failing to register as a foreign agent despite engaging in political activities.

“GovAI is aware of the request made by Senator Cruz to the department of justice, and, if required, will co-operate fully with the relevant authorities,” a GovAI spokesperson said.

“GovAI is a strictly independent organisation which is committed to operating responsibly and transparently.”

Reuters