Keir Starmer Rejects Claims UK Will Mirror US AI Deregulation at Paris AI Summit

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. and the U.K. didn’t sign a joint declaration on “sustainable and inclusive” AI at the Paris Summit.
• The British government has downplayed the significance of the move.
• However, the event demonstrated that world leaders have heard Washington’s call for a more relaxed approach to AI regulation.

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, the U.S. and the U.K. opted not to sign a joint declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” artificial intelligence at the Paris AI Summit.

Some observers suggested the move could signal a new direction for the U.K. that is more in line with the American approach under President Trump.

However, the government has sought to downplay the notion that it is simply following the U.S. lead.

Paris Declaration Lacks ‘Practical Clarity’ Claims U.K. Government

Explaining the decision not to sign the Paris “Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and Planet,” a government spokesperson cited by the Guardian said:

“We felt the declaration didn’t provide enough practical clarity on global governance, nor sufficiently address harder questions around national security and the challenge AI poses to it.”

The statement dodges the question of whether the U.K. agrees with the declaration’s principles.

The lack of clear commitments is also a poor excuse not to sign. While the Bletchley and Seoul Declarations contained some voluntary commitments, they were also short on concrete proposals.

“It is important to remember that this latest international declaration is a non-binding pledge,” Roch Glowacki, an AI law specialist at Lewis Silkin told CCN.

“Many of these international AI-related initiatives are not legally binding on signatories and rarely result in the implementation of specific laws.”

“Whether the U.K. had signed this declaration or not is unlikely to have any tangible impact on its regulatory approach to AI.”

Starmer Unaware of U.S. Position

Asked by the Guardian if the government had declined to sign because it wanted to follow the American lead, the spokesperson for Keir Starmer said they were “not aware of the U.S. reasons or position” on the declaration.

“While it might appear that the UK is following the U.S.’s lead on this matter, the UK has long adopted a largely reactive and flexible, some might say non-committal, approach to AI regulation,” Glowacki noted.

“For years, it has observed from the sidelines the drafting process and now the implementation of the EU’s AI Act. It has delayed addressing pressing AI and intellectual property issues. The failure to endorse the declaration is consistent with the UK’s track record of taking a cautious approach to making commitments around AI.”

However, the decision to opt-out must be viewed in light of the current mood in Washington, where the Trump administration has been critical of European regulatory zeal.

Speaking on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance decried “excessive regulation” in the EU.

He even took the opportunity to call out the Digital Services Act and General Data Protection Regulation, which impose strict rules and liabilities on American tech businesses.

Regulation Out of Fashion in Paris

Unlike past summits, which saw world leaders united in their calls for regulatory action to prevent AI harm, AI safety took a backseat in Paris.

A major topic of conversation was European competitiveness. Led by French President Emmanuel Macron, policymakers across the continent called for a less restrictive business environment to promote innovation.

Even Brussels’ top officials read the room, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledging to cut red tape at the EU level during her speech at the event.