Argentina refuses to sign G20 statement on regulation of Artificial Intelligence

Argentina is the lone holdout on a G20 declaration calling for "transparent" and "ethical" regulation for Artificial Intelligence.

Parliamentary heads of the G20 countries, except Argentina, signed a declaration in Brazil last weekend that defends Artificial Intelligence as a means to "promote sustainable development."

However, the leaders also warned that it must be regulated with a "transparent, inclusive, ethical, responsible, reliable and centred on the human being," according to a statement released Saturday.

The final document of the 10th Summit of Presidents of the G20 Parliaments (P20), concluded on Friday in the Brazilian Congress after three days of debates, focused on three objectives: reform of global governance, standardisation of artificial intelligence (AI) and poverty eradication.

The declaration will be delivered to world leaders who will meet at the G20 Summit, on November 18 and 19 of this year, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Parliamentary representatives recognized the "disruptive potential" of AI to "widen or narrow" the productivity gap between developed and developing countries, requiring "appropriate measures" to ensure "safe and reliable" AI that facilitates "the innovation, technology transfer and knowledge exchange."

The final document also recommended "addressing the technological and AI disparity" between different countries, so that everyone can benefit from the digital transformation in the economy.

Argentina, governed by President Javier Milei, was the only G20 member that did not sign the declaration, which addresses strategic objectives such as social inclusion, the fight against hunger, environmental care and gender equality.

Its the latest in a series of defining positions taken by Argentina on the international stage following Milei's arrival to office last December.

Argentina's government, which denies among other things climate change and the wage gap between men and women, had already broken the G20 consensus around another declaration on female empowerment, approved at a ministerial meeting in October in Brasília.

– TIMES/AFP