Refusal to sign AI declaration was ‘based on what’s best for British people’
12 February 2025, 09:14
Government minister Alex Norris said the UK was not simply following the US in not signing a declaration at the close of the AI Action Summit.
The Government makes “decisions based on what’s best for the British people” a minister has said, after the UK refused to sign an international agreement on AI at a summit in Paris.
The UK joined the US in not signing a communique issued at the end of the two-day AI Action Summit, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, about the future direction of the disruptive technology.
The declaration on “inclusive and sustainable artificial intelligence for people and the planet” was signed by 57 countries, including India and China, as well as the Vatican, the EU and African Union Commission.
However, the UK said at the close of the summit on Tuesday that it had declined to back the joint communique because it failed to provide enough “practical clarity” on “global governance” of artificial intelligence, or address “harder questions” about national safety.
Asked on Sky News whether it was a decision to side with the new US administration, Communities minister Alex Norris said: “No (…) that’s not how we make decisions.
“We make decisions based on what’s best for the British people.
“That’s what we’ve done in this situation, as we would do on any situation global or domestic, and that’s what we’ve done here.”
There had been reports the US did not sign the declaration because it had concerns over some of the wording being used in the document, which included references to “open”, “inclusive”, “transparent” and “sustainable” AI development.
At the summit on Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance had criticised the EU’s approach to regulation and content moderation in other sectors, urging leaders to employ a light-touch approach to regulation of AI in order to foster innovation, while also warning international partners against doing deals with “authoritarian regimes” around the technology.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did not attend summit, with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle representing the UK in Paris.
Mr Norris said the Government “speak as one voice” and that the “reality” is that “the message is the same” on behalf of the UK no matter who attends such events.
“We asserted our view in Britain’s interest in this role,” he said.
“AI is a huge underpinning of our plan for change. It’s going to change all our lives in some degree, we think it’s really important.
“We want to get to the right place with our neighbours.”
