CHAPEL HILL: The United States has urged G20 countries to take a light-touch approach to artificial intelligence regulation, arguing that governments should avoid introducing unnecessary new rules that could slow innovation.
US tech adviser Michael Kratsios made the appeal on Tuesday while co-hosting a two-day G20 technology meeting in North Carolina attended by senior government officials and technology industry leaders.
The US position broadly reflects the interests of major American AI companies, which have been pushing for fewer regulatory restrictions as the technology develops rapidly.
Washington argues that excessive government requirements could affect the industry’s growth by delaying the launch of new AI models or forcing companies to alter their products to address regulatory and security concerns.
US promotes ‘Carolina Principles’
Kratsios called on G20 members to adopt what he described as the “Carolina Principles”, a framework focused on encouraging technological innovation while limiting new regulations.
Under the proposed principles, countries would “reserve new regulation for novel considerations” when developing AI policies, Kratsios told G20 officials.
The framework also calls for greater investment in foundational AI research and efforts to expand commercial opportunities linked to emerging technologies.
“Policymakers do not need to approach each innovation in isolation and should not treat every emerging technology as a first-of-its-kind policy problem,” Kratsios said.
The meeting comes at a critical time for the global AI industry, as governments debate how best to regulate increasingly powerful systems while maintaining competitiveness and public safety.
The United States is also facing growing competition from China in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.
Concerns grow over AI safety
The push for lighter regulation comes amid growing international concern about the risks associated with increasingly autonomous AI systems.
A United Nations panel recently warned that advances in artificial intelligence are moving faster than scientific understanding and government policymaking.
Recent incidents involving AI agents have also intensified concerns about the security of systems capable of operating with limited human supervision.
AI agents are software programs designed to perform tasks with minimal direct human intervention.
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Tech giants join G20 discussions
Several major technology executives are taking part in the discussions surrounding the G20 meeting.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticised European Union technology regulations on Tuesday, arguing that the bloc’s policies inhibit technological progress. He also called for countries outside China to develop new energy sources to meet the growing electricity demands of AI data centres.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to address ministers by video, while Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis has also been added to the list of speakers.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are separately scheduled to meet delegates alongside US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
A White House official said the US would also encourage G20 members not to establish new regulatory bodies specifically to oversee AI development.
The North Carolina meeting is part of a series of G20 gatherings being held across US cities ahead of the leaders’ summit in Miami in December.
US-China AI race intensifies
China’s development of open-weight AI models has added urgency to the global competition. Such systems make key elements of their technology publicly accessible and have become increasingly capable compared with proprietary models developed by major US companies.
The growing strength of Chinese AI models has raised both competitive and national security concerns in Washington.
Vivek Chilukuri, a technology and national security fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said the developments had increased pressure on the US administration to ensure other countries remained within the American technology ecosystem rather than turning to alternatives.
Canadian officials are also expected to attend the meeting. Ottawa said its delegation would push for an approach that balances technological innovation with public trust and safety.
