US and UK refuse to sign Paris summit declaration on 'inclusive' AI

The US and the UK have refused to sign the Paris AI summit's declaration on "inclusive and sustainable" artificial intelligence, in a blow to hopes for a concerted approach to developing and regulating the technology. The two countries did not immediately explain their reasons for not adding their names to a document backed by 60 signatories on Tuesday, including China, India, Japan, Australia and Canada. The UK prime minister's official spokesperson said France was one of the UK's closest partners in AI, but the government would "only ever sign up to initiatives that are in UK national interests". But they added that the UK had signed up to the summit's Coalition for Sustainable AI and had backed a statement on cybersecurity. Asked if the UK had declined to sign up because the US had refused to do so, the spokesperson said they were "not aware of the US reasons or position" on the declaration.