Open-source software developers should be exempt from the EU’s proposed AI rules. This is the view of GitHub CEO Thomas Domke, according to TechCrunch.
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In his view, amending the bill’s provisions would allow the European Union to become a leader in artificial intelligence.
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\”Open source forms the foundation of AI in Europe. The US and China do not have to win at everything,\” said the head of the company at the EU summit on open-source policy in Brussels.
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In April 2021, the European Commission unveiled a bill regulating the use of AI within the EU. It is expected that in the coming months the European Parliament will adopt new rules. Depending on public debate, the document could be approved by the end of 2023.
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Critics say the current draft threatens the open-source software community and, consequently, the development of AI. The law could create legal liability for general-purpose AI systems and would grant more power to tech giants. Given the limited resources of free-software developers, they will find it hard to resist large companies.
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Earlier, GitHub сообщили, that the number of users surpassed 100 million. This is the world’s largest platform for distributing independent projects.
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A report by venture firm Runa Capital показал, that about half of the fastest-growing open-source startups are based outside the United States, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
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Domke is convinced that, even if the rules do not extend beyond the EU, they could become a template for regulation, akin to GDPR.
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\”This policy could well become a precedent for how the world regulates AI. It is fundamentally important. Important for European technological leadership and for the future of the entire European economy. It must be fair and balanced toward the open-source software community,\” says Domke.
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He added that the open-source developer community is, first and foremost, people. Therefore, in regulatory legislation \”it is important to reflect core European values,\” says the GitHub chief:
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\”This is a community of people, and the burden of compliance should fall on legal entities […]. Developers are simultaneously hobbyists and scientists, academics and doctors, professors and students; they do not profit from their contributions. And naturally they do not have large budgets or departments for handling complaints.\”
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In November 2022, the European Union published new version of the AI bill.
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In January 2023, the EU and the United States agreed to join forces to work jointly on AI projects.