US tech giants Amazon, IBM, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI have called upon the European Commission to keep its upcoming Code of Practice on General-Purpose AI (GPAI) “as simple as possible”, according to now published minutes of a meeting held last week.
In a meeting with Werner Stengg, an official in the cabinet of EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, the companies said that the code “should be as simple as possible, so as to avoid redundant reporting and unnecessary administrative burden”.
The voluntary Code of Practice on GPAI, aims to help providers of AI models – such as large language models like ChatGPT, comply with the EU’s AI Act.
The final draft was due out on 2 May but was delayed because the Commission “received a number of requests to leave the consultations open longer than originally planned.”
The EU executive appointed thirteen experts last September to work on the guidelines and organised plenary sessions and workshops enabling some 1,000 participants to share feedback. The previous texts were criticised by publishers for impacts on copyright rules, while US Big Tech companies said the draft would stymie innovation and prove burdensome.
The companies told Stengg that the final text should “allow its signatories sufficient time to implement the various commitments after the publication of the final version of the Code” and warned that it should not go beyond the intended scope of the AI Act itself.
Earlier this month, ABBA member Björn Ulvaeus warned lawmakers in Brussels that he is concerned about “proposals driven by Big Tech” that weaken creative rights under the AI Act. The artist - who is the president of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) - echoed concerns voiced by other creative industry players in recent months.
The Commission said previously that the aim is to publish the latest draft “before the summer”. On 2 August, the rules on GP AI tools enter into force. The AI Act itself - which regulates AI tools according to the risk they pose to society - entered into force in August last year. Its provisions apply gradually, before the Act will be fully applicable in 2027.
