Austria calls for EU ban on Chinese AI systems

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Austrian State Secretary for Digitization Florian Tursky called artificial intelligence (AI) from China a huge threat to society and national security.

"If this new Chinese regulation comes and is implemented, from my point of view it is necessary to exclude AI systems created in China from the EU market and ban them in Europe," Tursky said, as reported by Austrian public broadcaster ORF on Thursday.

China's internet regulator Cyberspace Administration of China said it will support development of AI, but only if the AI content complies with socialist core values.

China's announcement may endanger democracy, according to Tursky. "AI must not follow a state-imposed ideology. This would result in Chinese AI systems entering the market in Europe that have the ideological footprints of the Chinese Communist Party," he warned.

He further said he has sent a letter to the EU Commission urging it to finalize the AI Act as soon as possible. This set of rules is intended to ensure that the potential of AI is exploited without causing harm.

According to Tursky, it would not be possible to wait until the beginning of 2025, as actually planned, for EU regulation. By then, technological capabilities would have multiplied and countless AI algorithms would be on the European market without knowing their content and direction, he added.