The UK appears not to have signed a leaders’ declaration at the climax of the AI Action Summit in Paris.
There had been reports that the UK would not sign the declaration after the US had reportedly raised concerns about the wording, which is said to include references to “sustainable and inclusive AI”.
Downing Street would not comment on “live” discussions in Paris as reports from the summit indicated the UK and US had refused to back the statement.
But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters at Westminster: “We’ll only ever sign up to initiatives that are in the UK’s national interests.”
The spokesman said the Government has “worked with the French throughout this process” and “they remain one of our closest partners in all areas of AI”.
World leaders, tech executives, civil society representatives and academics have been in talks for two days in the French capital over the current progress and future direction of the technology.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chose not to attend the summit, although Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has been in Paris, where he said he would speak to international partners about cementing the UK’s position as an “AI pioneer”.
Earlier on Monday, US Vice President JD Vance urged Europe to have a light-touch approach to regulation of AI in order to foster innovation, but also warned international partners against doing deals with “authoritarian regimes” around the technology.