Governments Race to Regulate AI Tools

An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
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Governments Race to Regulate AI Tools

An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT are complicating governments' efforts to agree to laws governing the use of the technology, Reuters said.
Here are the latest steps national and international governing bodies are taking to regulate AI tools:
AUSTRALIA
* Planning regulations
Australia will make search engines draft new codes to prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material created by AI and the production of deepfake versions of the same material, its internet regulator said in September.
BRITAIN
* Planning regulations
Governments and companies need to address the risks of AI head on, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Oct. 26 ahead of the first global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park on Nov. 1-2.
Sunak added Britain would set up the world's first AI safety institute to "understand what each new model is capable of, exploring all the risks from social harms like bias and misinformation through to the most extreme risks".
Britain's data watchdog said on Oct. 10 it had issued Snap Inc's Snapchat with a preliminary enforcement notice over a possible failure to properly assess the privacy risks of its generative AI chatbot to users, particularly children.
CHINA
* Implemented temporary regulations
China published proposed security requirements for firms offering services powered by generative AI on Oct. 12, including a blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train AI models.
The country issued a set of temporary measures in August, requiring service providers to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.
EUROPEAN UNION
* Planning regulations
European lawmakers agreed on Oct. 24 on a critical part of new AI rules outlining the types of systems that will be designated "high risk", and inched closer to a broader agreement on the landmark AI Act, according to five people familiar with the matter. An agreement is expected in December, two co-rapporteurs said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sept. 13 called for a global panel to assess the risks and benefits of AI.
FRANCE
* Investigating possible breaches
France's privacy watchdog said in April it was investigating complaints about ChatGPT.
G7
* Seeking input on regulations
G7 leaders in May called for the development and adoption of technical standards to keep AI "trustworthy".
ITALY
* Investigating possible breaches
Italy's data protection authority plans to review AI platforms and hire experts in the field, a top official said in May. ChatGPT was temporarily banned in the country in March, but it was made available again in April.
JAPAN
* Investigating possible breaches
Japan expects to introduce by the end of 2023 regulations that are likely closer to the US attitude than the stringent ones planned in the EU, an official close to deliberations said in July.
The country's privacy watchdog has warned OpenAI not to collect sensitive data without people's permission.
POLAND
* Investigating possible breaches
Poland's Personal Data Protection Office said on Sept. 21 it was investigating OpenAI over a complaint that ChatGPT breaks EU data protection laws.
SPAIN
* Investigating possible breaches
Spain's data protection agency in April launched a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT.
UNITED NATIONS
* Planning regulations
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Oct. 26 announced the creation of a 39-member advisory body, composed of tech company executives, government officials and academics, to address issues in the international governance of AI.
The UN Security Council held its first formal discussion on AI in July, addressing military and non-military applications of AI that "could have very serious consequences for global peace and security", Guterres said at the time.
US
* Seeking input on regulations
The White House is expected to unveil on Oct. 30 a long-awaited AI executive order, which would require "advanced AI models to undergo assessments before they can be used by federal workers", the Washington Post reported.
The US Congress in September held hearings on AI and an AI forum featuring Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
More than 60 senators took part in the talks, during which Musk called for a US "referee" for AI. Lawmakers said there was universal agreement about the need for government regulation of the technology.
On Sept. 12, the White House said Adobe, IBM , Nvidia and five other firms had signed President Joe Biden's voluntary commitments governing AI, which require steps such as watermarking AI-generated content.
A Washington D.C. district judge ruled in August that a work of art created by AI without any human input cannot be copyrighted under US law.
The US Federal Trade Commission opened in July an investigation into OpenAI on claims that it has run afoul of consumer protection laws.



Taiwan Chip Giant TSMC Says Net Profit Hit Record in 3rd Quarter

FILE PHOTO: File Photo: The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at the company's second-quarter earnings conference in Taipei, Taiwan, July 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: File Photo: The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at the company's second-quarter earnings conference in Taipei, Taiwan, July 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo/File Photo
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Taiwan Chip Giant TSMC Says Net Profit Hit Record in 3rd Quarter

FILE PHOTO: File Photo: The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at the company's second-quarter earnings conference in Taipei, Taiwan, July 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: File Photo: The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at the company's second-quarter earnings conference in Taipei, Taiwan, July 16, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo/File Photo

Taiwanese chip giant TSMC said Thursday that net profit soared 68.7 percent to a record high in the third quarter, buoyed by massive global demand for AI hardware.

The result marked the sixth straight record quarterly net profit for the company, the world's biggest contract maker of microchips, including those used in Nvidia AI data center processors.

But with the AI boom only getting bigger, analysts warn that chipmakers and other tech firms reporting bumper financial results risk being "judged against perfection" by investors.

Meanwhile the company's planned expansion into the United States, including building chip plants in Arizona, is also likely to shape its future earnings.

TSMC's net profit for July to September surged year-on-year to NT$763.1 billion (US$23.6 billion), beating analyst estimates of NT$739.5 billion.

The result surpassed the company's previous quarterly record of NT$706.6 billion set in April-June 2026.

Quarterly revenue rose 50.9 percent to NT$1.5 trillion.

"Our business was supported by strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies," AFP quoted the company as saying in a statement.

Governments and tech giants are pouring eye-watering sums into building data centers that can train and run AI tools such as image generators and agents that can execute tasks.

But concerns about overstretched valuations have fueled fears of a market bubble, along with questions over when the massive investments into AI will reap returns.

TSMC's share price has ballooned nearly 60 percent this year, adding pressure on its earnings announcement as investors ask how long the good times can last.

TSMC builds chips for the likes of Nvidia, Apple, AMD and Broadcom -- meaning it "sits at the very center of the AI ecosystem", Zavier Wong, Market Analyst at eToro, told AFP ahead of the earnings announcement.

"Every leading AI chip still runs through its factories, so for investors, this week's results are about as close as it gets to a health check on the entire AI build-out."

Fears over AI's dangers have intensified in recent weeks, leading to calls for leading US labs to deliberately slow down their technological advancement.

"If the biggest buyers start to pace their spending, whether because of funding costs or AI labs slowing the development of new models, chipmakers would feel it quickly," Wong said.

TSMC is not the only chip giant enjoying the benefits of the AI boom.

Last week, South Korea's Samsung Electronics forecast a more than 780 percent leap in third-quarter operating profit from a year earlier.

But Samsung's shares still fell because its forecast missed expectations.

"Record profits have become the new normal, and Nvidia has lived with this for years, judged against perfection," Wong said.

Often "investors skip straight past the headline numbers and pick through the guidance and the fine print for any warning signs.”


Mexico Gives Social Networks One Month to Remove Violent Content

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily conference in Mexico City, Mexico, May 29, 2026. REUTERS/Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily conference in Mexico City, Mexico, May 29, 2026. REUTERS/Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/File Photo
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Mexico Gives Social Networks One Month to Remove Violent Content

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily conference in Mexico City, Mexico, May 29, 2026. REUTERS/Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during her daily conference in Mexico City, Mexico, May 29, 2026. REUTERS/Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/File Photo

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday ordered Meta, TikTok, X, Apple and Microsoft to remove content inciting violence on their social networks following a spate of deadly attacks in schools.

Sheinbaum gave the platforms a month to comply or face sanctions.

In the past two weeks, two people have been killed and several people injured in two separate school attacks.

The attacks have caused alarm in a country that lives in terror of brutal drug cartels but is a relative stranger to shootings or stabbings in schools.

On October 1, two teenage brothers armed with knives and fireworks killed a female assistant principal and injured three other people at a school in Coahuila state.

Then on Tuesday, a teacher was shot dead at a school in the southern state of Oaxaca, AFP reported.

Sheinbaum linked the violence to "behavior associated with communication on social media."

She said that if the tech companies did not "adjust their algorithms" to remove "all violent content linked to the accounts of children and adolescents," she would legislate to impose sanctions on them.

The decree issued by Sheinbaum on Wednesday orders social networks to prevent minors accessing "images and videos that lead to or encourage violence in a school setting," including "abuse, suicide, self-harm, cyberbullying and hate speech."

The networks must alert the authorities "if they identify content that endangers life."

In a discussion with TikTok and Instagram users, Sheinbaum denied that the new rules amounted to censorship.

"We're not banning social media," she said.


Eight US States Sue OpenAI, Claiming ChatGPT Harms Young Users

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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Eight US States Sue OpenAI, Claiming ChatGPT Harms Young Users

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)

A bipartisan group of eight states said on Wednesday they had sued OpenAI in courts across the country over harms they say ChatGPT has caused to their residents, alleging the chatbot has coached its users — including teenagers — to harm themselves or others.

Attorneys general from the states, which include Iowa, Kansas and Arizona, filed the lawsuits independently in state courts, claiming ChatGPT is designed ‌to be ‌agreeable and engaging to earn the trust ‌of ⁠users. But the ⁠chatbot reinforces delusions, encourages dangerous behavior and assists users in planning violence like mass shootings, the lawsuits claim.

The lawsuits represent the most significant coordinated state action against an artificial intelligence company, adding to a wave of legal challenges OpenAI faces as it ⁠prepares for a public listing. Florida's attorney ‌general filed the first ‌such state suit in June.

The lawsuits accuse the company of ‌violating state consumer protection laws by misleading users ‌about the safety of ChatGPT. The states also allege that the company created a public nuisance by endangering the health of their residents.

The lawsuits seek orders forcing OpenAI ‌to make changes to how ChatGPT works. Among other things, the states want ⁠the company barred ⁠from developing AI models that can improve themselves unless it can ensure those models are aligned with human values.

The states, which also include Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia, are also seeking civil monetary penalties for OpenAI's violations of state law as well as damages.

A spokesperson for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company is also facing dozens of lawsuits by private plaintiffs, alleging ChatGPT helped users plan mass shootings or other violence.