US, Britain, and EU Sign Historic AI Treaty: Why is it a huge deal?

In a landmark move, global powers sign the first legally binding AI treaty, aiming to protect human rights, regulate AI risks, and promote ethical innovation across both public and private sectors.

On Thursday in Lithuania, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and other countries signed the Council of Europe’s International AI treaty, marking a significant advancement in the application of AI systems. 

The deal was described as the first worldwide legally binding pact on the use of AI systems by the Council of Europe, a human rights organisation with its headquarters in France.

Israel, Georgia, Norway, Iceland, Andorra, Moldova and San Marino also signed the treaty. Some others involved in negotiating the treaty were Japan, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica and the Vatican.

“This Convention is a major step to ensuring that these new technologies can be harnessed without eroding our oldest values, like human rights and the rule of law,” Britain’s justice minister, Shabana Mahmood, said in a statement.

The AI Convention mainly focuses on the protection of human rights of people affected by AI systems and is separate from the EU AI Act, which entered into force last month.

This International AI convention was first adopted by the Council of Europe, a 47-member council that includes 27 EU members, in May 2023. 

Prepared against the backdrop of rapidly advancing AI technology and mounting worries about its misuse, such as deep-fakes, the treaty establishes a legal framework to oversee the whole lifetime of AI systems and manage the hazards they may bring, all while encouraging responsible innovation.

The treaty drafted by the Council of Europe differs from the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which went into effect earlier this month. 

The CoE treaty is open to non-European countries, and it covers the use of AI systems in both the public and private sectors, with differing models for adhering to its principles and requirements when regulating the latter. The EU law governs the use of AI in high-risk industries.

As reported by the FT, Peter Kyle, the UK’s minister for science, innovation, and technology, welcomed the international agreement, and the importance of reaching this first step globally.

Kyle said that the pact is the first with “real teeth,” although some critics have slammed the absence of consequences that can be enforced as part of the “legally enforceable” agreement. There are no financial sanctions in place to dissuade or punish entities that violate the requirements of the pact.

Compliance will be primarily measured by monitoring, which, if not strictly enforced, may undermine the agreement’s intents and purpose.

“The Framework Convention is an open treaty with a potentially global reach. I hope that these will be the first of many signatures and that they will be followed quickly by ratifications, so that the treaty can enter into force as soon as possible,” Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric said in a statement.

“We must ensure that the rise of AI upholds our standards, rather than undermining them,” she said as the US, the EU, the UK and Israel among others joined the treaty.

The Council of Europe treaty is set to apply three months after five signatories (including three Council member states) ratify the accord.