AI Regulations Hinder Innovation, Says Capgemini CEO
PARIS - The European Union's (EU) regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) have gone too far, hindering the deployment of the technology in the region, according to Aiman Ezzat, CEO of French IT consulting group Capgemini.
Ezzat's comments, made ahead of the AI Action summit in Paris, reflect growing frustration among private AI players over EU regulations. The issue is compounded by the lack of global standards, creating a "nightmarish" situation for companies.
The EU's AI Act aims to be the most comprehensive law on AI use globally, but it has faced criticism for stifling innovation. Ezzat believes that Europe's haste in implementing these regulations was excessive.
Capgemini, one of Europe's largest IT services providers, collaborates with companies like Microsoft, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Its clients include major corporations such as Heathrow Airport and Deutsche Telekom.
At the Paris summit, heads of state and technology executives are expected to discuss frameworks for AI policy. Ezzat anticipates efforts to align policies across jurisdictions.
While the AI Act's full implementation will take time, European data protection authorities are already scrutinizing AI actors for potential privacy violations. Recently, authorities in several European countries have investigated DeepSeek, a Chinese startup that has emerged as a low-cost competitor to US tech giants.
Ezzat acknowledged DeepSeek's disruptive potential due to its open-source models. However, he emphasized that this transparency has limitations and that the underlying datasets used for training remain inaccessible.
Capgemini has initiated discussions with clients about implementing DeepSeek's models, but Ezzat stressed that this process is in its early stages.