EU still hammering out landmark AI rules in marathon overnight talks

By Foo Yun Chee and Supantha Mukherjee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU lawmakers and governments were still wrangling on Thursday morning over several key issues on landmark rules governing artificial intelligence, two sources familiar with the matter said, as marathon overnight talks entered their second day.

The two sides agreed on how to regulate fast-growing generative AI systems such as ChatGPT in the early hours of Thursday, a source told Reuters.

But several key issues such as its use in law enforcement and source code access were yet to be debated after 17 hours of talks, according to two sources familiar with the matter. They declined to be identified because the talks are confidential.

The Council of the European Union on Thursday postponed a press conference scheduled for 0700 GMT until further notice as negotiations continue after 17 hours which included tense debates and frustration with a broken coffee machine.

The discussion between EU governments and lawmakers started at 1400 GMT on Wednesday.

EU countries and lawmakers have been trying to finalise details of the draft rules proposed by the European Commission two years ago but have struggled to keep up with the rapidly evolving technology. That made a consensus hard to achieve.

The new law could become the blueprint for other governments as countries seek to craft rules for their own AI industry, providing an alternative to the U.S.’ light-touch approach and China’s interim rules.