French defence group Thales calls on governments to regulate AI

The head of French defence and technology group Thales called on governments Monday to take responsibility for regulating artificial intelligence, as more tech leaders sound the alarm over the technology's rapid rise.

"There are ways and means, on the technical standpoint, to put this type of technology under control, but it's not sufficient," Patrice Caine said at Thales's UK tech conference in London.

"We need frameworks, and this clearly lies, in terms of responsibility, in the hands of governments," Caine added, noting that Thales had been working on AI research for decades.

Technology stocks came under pressure Monday after tech bosses backed calls to slow AI development, warning that the technology could pose a threat to humanity.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Claude-maker Anthropic, warned Saturday that "addressing the risks requires even more prudence".

He was quickly backed by OpenAI boss Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who owns xAI, as pressure builds for improved oversight.

For Thales, AI has become increasingly important to its defence business, particularly as governments worldwide place greater emphasis on autonomous systems.

He said his group is focused on creating "trusted AI systems" that are transparent and allow operators to understand how a particular conclusion has been reached.

Caine said that it should not be left to private companies alone to reassure the public that AI "will never... come out of control", and that governments instead must take responsibility for creating regulatory frameworks.

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THALES