AI rules ‘cannot be bargained’, EU’s Breton says after OpenAI CEO threat

Europe’s artificial intelligence (AI) rules are not for negotiation, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Thursday, as he criticised OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s threat to quit the continent if it cannot comply with the legislation.

Altman’s comments at a conference a day earlier came as the European Union seeks to expand its AI rules to cover generative AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and require companies to disclose any copyrighted material used to develop their systems.

Breton said there was no point making speculative threats and claiming Europe was holding up the rollout of generative AI.