US-EU agreement on artificial intelligence seen as a swipe at China – but little else for now

The US and EU are talking up the significance of their new pact on artificial intelligence, but a closer inspection indicates the two sides still have precious little common when it comes to regulating the technology – except a desire to take the moral high ground against China. The long-awaited agreement was reached when the Trade and Technology Council met for the first time on 29 September in Pittsburgh, with Brussels and Washington vowing to make sure AI systems are "innovative and trustworthy" and "respect universal human rights and shared democratic values". The EU and US will "seek to develop a mutual understanding on the principles underlining trustworthy and responsible AI," the agreement says. But exactly what this means in practice remains to be fleshed out. While both sides said they have noted each other's domestic regulatory proposals on AI, there is no mention of coordinating their approaches.