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Musk defends AI data centres, slams EU rules at G20

From The Punch · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Elon Musk urged G20 governments to limit technology and artificial intelligence regulation, arguing that European Union rules slow innovation.
  • He defended expanding AI data centers in the United States, saying they are needed to address a power shortfall, while calling for builders to pay their fair share of taxes.
  • The meeting forms part of the US G20 presidency’s push for light-touch AI rules, amid political opposition to data center construction and debate over AI risks.

Elon Musk used a G20 technology meeting in North Carolina to deliver a blunt message to European officials: loosen the rules governing artificial intelligence or risk slowing technological progress.

Speaking virtually at the Chapel Hill meeting, Musk said new technologies should be “default legal as opposed to default illegal.” He described regulation in the European Union as “extraordinarily high” and said its approach inhibits progress, although it does not stop innovation altogether.

You have to have an environment that’s relatively free of regulation, meaning that new things must be default legal as opposed to default illegal.

— Elon MuskMusk argued that governments should create a regulatory environment that allows new technologies to develop.

EU officials in Brussels firmly reject that argument. Musk made his criticism with ministers from France, Italy and Germany, as well as EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen, present at the meeting.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief also defended the construction of AI data centers in the United States. He said the facilities are urgently needed to provide the computing capacity required by the AI industry and to fill what he called a “power shortfall.” Musk nevertheless said data center builders should pay their fair share of taxes.

In the EU, for example, we find that the regulation level is extraordinarily high, and things are generally default illegal, and this inhibits progress with new technologies.

— Elon MuskHe criticized European Union technology rules during the G20 meeting.

The debate over the facilities has intensified in the United States ahead of midterm elections later this year. President Donald Trump attacked opponents of AI data centers on Monday, saying they would leave the United States “backwards and poor” and help China. His administration has largely favored a hands-off approach that would allow the industry to develop its own safeguards.

The United States holds the rotating G20 presidency and has framed its year around reducing regulatory burdens and promoting emerging technologies. The Chapel Hill meeting, organized by White House science and technology director Michael Kratsios and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seeks support for light-touch AI regulation. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and OpenAI chief Sam Altman are expected to attend in person on Wednesday, while Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg are due to participate virtually.

It doesn’t ultimately stop it, but it slows it down quite considerably.

— Elon MuskMusk said EU regulation does not prevent innovation but significantly delays it.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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