PARIS >> U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday warned global leaders and tech industry executives that “excessive regulation” could cripple the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry in a rebuke to European efforts to curb AI’s risks.

The speech underscored a widening, three-way rift over the future of the technology.

The United States, under President Donald Trump, champions a hands-off approach to fuel innovation, while Europe is tightening the reins with strict regulations to ensure safety and accountability. Meanwhile, China is rapidly expanding AI through state-backed tech giants, vying for dominance in the global race.

The U.S. was noticeably absent from an international document signed by more than 60 nations, including China, making the Trump Administration the glaring outlier in a global pledge to promote responsible AI development.

Vance’s debut

At the summit, Vance made his first major policy speech since becoming vice president last month, framing AI as an economic turning point but cautioning that “at this moment, we face the extraordinary prospect of a new industrial revolution, one on par with the invention of the steam engine.”

“But it will never come to pass if overregulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary to advance the ball,” Vance added.

The 40-year-old vice president, leveraging the AI summit and a security conference in Munich later this week, is seeking to project Trump’s forceful new style of diplomacy.

The Trump administration will “ensure that AI systems developed in America are free from ideological bias,” Vance said and pledged the U.S. would “never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.”

A global AI pledge—and the U.S. absence

The international document, signed by scores of countries, including European nations, pledged to “promote AI accessibility to reduce digital divides” and “ensure AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure, and trustworthy.” It also called for “making AI sustainable for people and the planet” and protecting “human rights, gender equality, linguistic diversity, consumer rights, and intellectual property.”

In a surprise move, China — long criticized for its human rights record — signed the declaration, further widening the distance between America and the rest in the tussle for AI supremacy.

The agreement comes as the EU enforces its AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law, which took effect in August 2024.

A growing divide

Vance also took aim at foreign governments for “tightening the screws” on U.S. tech firms, saying such moves were troubling. His remarks underscored the growing divide between Washington and its European allies on AI governance.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that, “AI needs the confidence of the people and has to be safe? and detailed EU guidelines intended to standardize the bloc’s AI Act but acknowledged concerns over regulatory burden.

“At the same time, I know that we have to make it easier and we have to cut red tape and we will,” she added.

She also announced that the “InvestAI” initiative had reached a total of €200 billion in AI investments across Europe, including €20 billion dedicated to AI gigafactories.

A race for AI dominance

The summit laid bare competing global AI strategies — Europe pushing to regulate and invest, China expanding AI through state-backed giants, and the U.S. doubling down on an unregulated, free-market approach.

French President Emmanuel Macron positioned Europe as a “third way” in the AI race, one that avoids dependence on major powers like the U.S. and China.