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SINGAPORE/BANGKOK, June 16 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries are drawing up governance and ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) that will impose "guardrails" on the booming technology, five officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Senior Southeast Asian officials said the so-called ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics was taking shape and would try to balance the economic benefits of the technology with its many risks. The other ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The sources, who included officials in three Southeast Asian countries, declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The island city-state has been at the forefront of AI strategy in the region and is leading the talks to draw up the AI guide, according to three sources.

Persons: Fanny Potkin, Panu, Stephen Coates, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, Regulators, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Senior Southeast, ASEAN Digital Ministers, Singapore’s Ministry for Communications, Information, European Union, Media Development Authority, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, BANGKOK, ASEAN, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, United States, Europe, U.S

☆ French digital minister: Twitter actions not reassuring us it will comply with new EU rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFrench digital minister: Twitter actions not reassuring us it will comply with new EU rulesFrench Digital Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to CNBC's Charlotte Reed at the VivaTech conference in Paris.

Persons: Jean, Noel Barrot, CNBC's Charlotte Reed Organizations: French Digital Locations: Paris

☆ Elon Musk met with Italy prime minister to talk A.I., birth rates, as hunt for new factory location continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk met with Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday and discussed the risks of artificial intelligence and birth rates, among other topics, the Italian leader tweeted Thursday. Meloni tweeted in Italian that she and Musk discussed "innovation, opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence, European market regulations, and birth rates." Musk has repeatedly warned of the risks of artificial intelligence. In February, Musk said AI is "one of the biggest risks to the future of civilization." Musk has also in the past called rapidly declining birth rates "one of the biggest risks to civilization."

Persons: Elon Musk, Giorgia Meloni, Tesla, Meloni, Musk, Jean, Noel Barrot, Emmanuel Macron Organizations: Italy, Viva Tech, France's, CNBC, Macron Locations: Rome, Austin , Texas, France, Paris, Europe

☆ France sees global A.I. regulation ideas by the end of this year, wants to work with U.S. on tech laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

I think we need a global regulation," Macron told CNBC's Karen Tso on the sidelines of the event. lawFrance's call for global AI regulation comes as the European Union closes in on passing an unprecedented law called the EU AI Act. watch nowFrance, which has traditionally taken a pro-regulatory stance, has expressed concern that the EU law around AI has gone to far. The U.S. has not yet come up with any kind of framework for AI regulation. France's top politicians who spoke to CNBC discussed their focus for AI regulation.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, ChatGPT, Bruno Le Maire, Jean, Noel Barrot, Macron, Karen Tso, Barrot, …, Le Maire Organizations: PARIS —, CNBC, U.S, European Union, Finance, Digital, Wednesday, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, EU A.I, EU, Nvidia Locations: China, France, Paris, U.S, Germany, EU, VivaTech, Europe

☆ CNBC Daily Open: The Fed paused, but so did markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on June 14, 2023. This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Pause and playThe Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. That could mean a return to raising rates to combat Turkey's sky-high inflation, which was 39.6% in May.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Elon Musk, Noel Barrot, Barrot, Jeffrey Gundlach, Gundlach Organizations: Federal Reserve, CNBC, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Twitter, DoubleLine Locations: Washington ,, Europe, France, EU, U.S

☆ French digital minister: A.I. comes with great promise for mankind
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFrench digital minister: A.I. comes with great promise for mankindFrench Digital Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that by the end of the year, "some of the core principles that we would like for the regulation of AI in G7 countries and like minded countries will start to emerge."

Persons: Jean, Noel Barrot Organizations: French Digital

☆ France wants Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in the country even as it threatens Twitter with a ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk with France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on May 15, 2023. France has been looking to woo Musk and Tesla to set up a factory in the country. PARIS — France is trying to convince Elon Musk to build Tesla's next Gigafactory in the country, the nation's digital minister told CNBC on Wednesday, in the most explicit comments yet that Paris wants the billionaire's investment. France has been looking to boost its position as a hub for the electric car industry, opening its first electric car battery factory this year. Barrot praised Musk as a "great inventor, probably one of the greatest of the beginning of this century."

Persons: Elon Musk, Emmanuel Macron, Tesla, Jean, Noel Barrot, CNBC's Charlotte Reed, Barrot, Musk Organizations: SpaceX, Twitter, PARIS —, CNBC, Union, Viva Tech Locations: Paris, France, PARIS, PARIS — France, Europe, U.S, Germany, China

☆ Factbox: Governments race to regulate AI tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

CHINA* Planning regulationsThe Chinese government will seek to initiate AI regulations in its country, billionaire Elon Musk said on June 5 after meeting with officials during his recent trip to China. ITALY* Investigating possible breachesItaly's data protection authority plans to review other artificial intelligence platforms and hire AI experts, a top official said in May. ChatGPT became available again to users in Italy in April after being temporarily banned over concerns by the national data protection authority in March. SPAIN* Investigating possible breachesSpain's data protection agency said in April it was launching a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT. The Biden administration earlier in April said it was seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems.

Persons: Alan Turing, Elon Musk, Margrethe Vestager, Vestager, CNIL, Dado Ruvic, Ziv Katzir, Israel, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Michael Bennet, Biden, Alessandro Parodi, Amir Orusov, Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan, Milla Nissi Organizations: Microsoft, Authority, Reuters, EU, Key, European Consumer Organisation, Seven, REUTERS, Israel Innovation Authority, UNITED, International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations, U.S . Federal Trade Commission's, Thomson Locations: AUSTRALIA, BRITAIN, Britain, CHINA, China, Beijing, U.S, FRANCE, Italy, Hiroshima, Japan, IRELAND, ISRAEL, Israel, ITALY, JAPAN, SPAIN, Gdansk

☆ Taiwanese minister to make rare Britain visit this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, June 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang will make a rare high-level ministerial trip to Britain this week where she is expected to visit government departments and meet a company specialising in low-earth orbit satellites, her ministry said on Sunday. The two sides will "exchange views on issues related to digital governance and digital industry cooperation", the ministry added, without giving details. Tang will also visit OneWeb, which specialises in low-earth orbit satellites, and hopes to bolster Taiwan's communications resilience plans, the ministry said. Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu is expected to go to Europe this week, too, where he will attend a security forum in Prague. The last Taiwanese minister known to have visited Britain was Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng, who went last June.

Persons: Audrey Tang, Tang, Elon Musk's, Joseph Wu, John Deng, Britain's, Trade Greg Hands, Tsai Ing, Taiwan's, Ben Blanchard, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Taiwan Digital, WHO, Twitter, London Tech, Britain's Department for Science, Innovation, Technology, Department for Business, Trade, Elon, Taiwan, State, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Britain, Taiwan, Beijing, China, Europe, Prague

Ukrainian forces set up Starlink satellite receivers to provide connection for civilians at Independence Square after the withdrawal of the Russian army from Kherson to the eastern bank of Dnieper River, Ukraine, on November 13, 2022. WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Thursday it has agreed to purchase Starlink satellite internet terminals from Elon Musk's SpaceX for use in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to defend itself against a full-scale Russian invasion. "We continue to work with a range of global partners to ensure Ukraine has the satellite and communication capabilities they need. Satellite communications constitute a vital layer in Ukraine's overall communications network and the department contracts with Starlink for services of this type," the Pentagon said in a statement to CNBC. Musk reportedly told the Pentagon in October he would no longer finance the Starlink terminals in Ukraine as the country prepared to fight through the harsh winter months.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Mykhailo Fedorov, Musk, Starlink, SpaceX wouldn't Organizations: Independence, WASHINGTON, Pentagon, Elon, SpaceX, CNBC, Bloomberg, Twitter, CNN Locations: Kherson, Ukraine, Kyiv, Europe

The agreement came after the European Union, which participates in the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law that could form a precedent among the advanced economies. The G7 leaders said they "need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI", a subset of the technology popularised by the ChatGPT app. A month later, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to find ways to control AI technologies, saying they were developing faster than expected. The United States so far has taken a cautious approach on governing AI, with President Joe Biden last month saying it remained to be seen whether AI is dangerous. While acknowledging differences on how AI should be regulated, the G7 leaders agreed on Friday to create a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process" to discuss issues around generative AI, such as copyrights and disinformation, by the end of this year.

TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Saturday called for the development and adoption of international technical standards for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers of the rich countries focus on the new technology. The agreement came after European Union, which is represented at the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law. The G7 leaders mentioned generative AI, the subset popularised by the ChatGPT app, saying they "need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI." The heads of government agreed on Friday to create a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process" to discuss issues around generative AI tools, such as intellectual property rights and disinformation, by the end of this year. The summit followed a G7 digital ministers' meeting last month, where the countries - the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - said they should adopt "risk-based" AI regulation.

☆ UK reviews AI models as rapid growth fuels safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Governments around the world are now trying to find a balance whereby they can assess and rein in some of the potential negative consequences of AI without stifling innovation. Britain in March opted to split regulatory responsibility for AI between those bodies that oversee human rights, health and safety, and competition, rather than creating a new body dedicated to the technology. CMA CEO Sarah Cardell said in a statement that AI had burst into the public consciousness and was developing at speed. The review in Britain echoes investigations taking place around the world, from Beijing to Brussels and Washington. Italy, a G7 member, took ChatGPT offline last month to investigate its potential breach of personal data rules.

☆ G7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan. EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology. Vestager, EU's tech regulation chief, said the bloc "will have the political agreement this year" on the AI copyright legislation, such as labelling obligations for AI-generated images or music. Japan, this year's chair of G7, meanwhile, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI. Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.

☆ EU tech tsar Vestager sees political agreement on AI law this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAKASAKI, April 30 (Reuters) - European Union tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday the bloc will likely reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world's first major artificial intelligence (AI) legislation. This would follow a preliminary deal reached on Thursday on the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act. In an interview with Reuters at a Group of Seven digital ministers' meeting in Takasaki, Japan, Vestager suggested legislative measures for the use of AI tools, such as "labelling obligations for AI-generated images". "There was no reason to hesitate and to wait for the legislation to be passed to accelerate the necessary discussions to provide the changes in all the systems where AI will have an enormous influence," she added, when asked about steps before any agreement takes force. Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Takasaki, Japan; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ G-7 should adopt 'risk-based' A.I. regulation, ministers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager gives a press conference in Brussels, Belgium on Feb. 1, 2023. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Group of Seven advanced nations should adopt "risk-based" regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital ministers agreed on Sunday, as European lawmakers hurry to introduce an AI Act to enforce rules on emerging tools such as ChatGPT. But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G-7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan. "The conclusions of this G-7 meeting show that we are definitely not alone in this," European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Reuters ahead of the agreement. Governments have especially paid attention to the popularity of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft -backed OpenAI that has become the fastest-growing app in history since its November launch.

☆ Factbox: Governments' efforts to regulate AI tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection agency said on Wednesday it would lift its temporary ban on OpenAI's ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) technology if the U.S. company complied with data protection and privacy demands by end-April. Rapid advances in AI such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT are complicating governments' efforts to agree on laws governing the use of the technology. Lawmakers have proposed classifying different AI tools according to their perceived level of risk, from low to unacceptable. On Wednesday, its data protection agency set an end-April deadline for OpenAI to meet its demands on data protection and privacy before the service can be resumed in the country. SPAINSpain's data protection agency has asked the EU's privacy watchdog to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT, the agency told Reuters on April 11.

☆ Italy became the first Western country to ban ChatGPT. Here's what other countries are doing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty ImagesItaly has become the first country in the West to ban ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence chatbot from U.S. startup OpenAI. watch nowVarious regulators are concerned by the challenges AI poses for job security, data privacy, and equality. "It's more, if you're using AI, these are the principles you should be thinking about," Holmes told CNBC. Ireland is typically the most active regulator when it comes to data privacy since most U.S. tech giants like Meta and Google have their offices there. The U.S. hasn't yet proposed any formal rules to bring oversight to AI technology.

☆ France moves to block access to pornography sites for minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - France will present this week a digital-certification mechanism to oblige pornography websites to effectively control the age of viewers on their sites from September, French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday. Sites which do not comply will risk being banned from publishing in France. In 2023, it is the end of access to pornography websites for our children," Barrot said in an interview with French daily Le Parisien. Under current legislation in France and most European countries, users have to 18 to be able to access pornography. But there is no effective control mechanism and users can simply enter a fictional birth date on their screens.

☆ Germany tells Musk it expects Twitter to fight disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Germany's digital minister recently met Elon Musk to clarify what Berlin expects from Twitter, especially in fighting disinformation, since the Tesla founder took over the social media firm, the digital ministry said on Friday. Digital and Transport Minister Volker Wissing, who was in California at the start of 2023, told Musk that Germany expects Twitter to voluntarily comply with commitments to fight disinformation, a spokesperson for the ministry said. Wissing also told Musk he expects Twitter to adhere in future to the Digital Services Act, agreed by the European Union's 27 member states and lawmakers in April 2022, which requires online platforms to do more to police the internet for illegal content. "There was a very open and long talk," the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that Musk made reassurances to Wissing. The German government will continue to critically observe the situation at Twitter, added the spokesperson, who would not comment in detail about individual statements by Musk.

☆ Taiwan is planning a satellite internet service amid China invasion fears after seeing how much Elon Musk's Starlink has helped in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Taiwan is courting investors to create its own satellite-based internet similar to Starlink, the FT reports. The move comes amid increasing tensions between mainland China and Taiwan. Taiwan's digital minister, Audrey Tang, told the FT: "We look at the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how Starlink has been used very successfully." Starlink is operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, and provides internet coverage via a constellation of satellites. Taiwan's decision to look at creating satellite-based internet comes amid increasingly tense relations with neighboring China.

☆ UK to trial Elon Musk's satellite broadband equipment in remote locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERSLONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Britain is to trial using low Earth orbit satellites to provide high-speed internet connections to remote homes and businesses, with the initial sites supported by equipment supplied by Elon Musk's Starlink system. Musk's SpaceX rocket company activated Starlink, a largely consumer-based service with hundreds of thousands of internet users, over Ukraine after Russia's invasion in February. "These trials aim to find a solution to the prohibitively high cost of rolling out cables to far-flung locations." As well as testing the technical capability of the satellites, the trials will look at what benefits faster internet connections will bring to these locations, the government said.

[1/2] An Ukrainian start-up desk is seen at the Web Summit, Europe's largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro NunesLISBON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Ukrainian entrepreneurs brought a message of hope to this week's Web Summit in Lisbon, Europe's largest tech gathering that ended on Friday: the war has made them more resilient than ever. "Many more Ukrainians came to the Web Summit this time," he added, standing in front of the Ukrainian pavillion. Web Summit chief Paddy Cosgrave told Reuters last week 59 Ukrainian startups were at the 2022 event. "This is a good sign that the Ukrainian tech and startup ecosystem is developing even during a time of war," said Sobolenko.

☆ Ukraine government is seeking alternatives to Elon Musk’s Starlink, vice PM says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Ukrainian government is looking for alternatives to Starlink, the satellite internet arm of Elon Musk's SpaceX, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Thursday. Musk's continued support for Starlink in Ukraine was called into question last month when the billionaire said his space venture could no longer fund the operation in Ukraine "indefinitely." During a press conference Thursday at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Fedorov said that he hasn't seen any issues with Musk's financing of Starlink in Ukraine continuing. "One of the reasons I came to Web Summit is to look for new partnerships and engage with new partners," he added. Last month, Musk said SpaceX couldn't continue funding Starlink terminals in Ukraine "indefinitely."

☆ 'The hell with it...': Elon Musk seems to backtrack refusal to fund costly Starlink for Ukraine, but complains 'other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk, in a series of tweets, criticized the government and suggested SpaceX will 'keep funding' Starlink. SpaceX had penned a letter to the Pentagon asking for help paying for the satellite internet service in Ukraine, according to a CNN report. "Starlink is losing money" despite other companies "getting billions in taxpayer $," he complained. Starlink is a satellite constellation that provides internet connection to regions without stable telecommunications infrastructure, according to international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Not long after Russia invaded Ukraine, SpaceX sent thousands of Starlink terminals to Kyiv to allow Ukrainian soldiers and civilians to maintain internet connection.

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