The EU Parliament has approved the first comprehensive framework in the world aimed at constraining the risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI).
This field has witnessed exponential growth, leading to significant profits but also igniting concerns regarding bias, privacy, and the future of humanity.
The AI Act operates by categorizing products based on risk levels and subsequently adjusting inspection accordingly.
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The creators of the law stated that it would make the tech more “human-centric.”
“The AI act is not the end of the journey but the starting point for new governance built around technology,” MEP Dragos Tudorache added.
It also puts the European Parliament at the forefront of global efforts to address the dangers related to AI.
Regions like China and the United States have already introduced their own AI regulations, however, the EU has set a new benchmark.
“The adoption of the AI Act marks the beginning of a new AI era and its importance cannot be overstated,” said Enza Iannopollo, principal analyst at Forrester.
“The EU AI Act is the world’s first and only set of binding requirements to mitigate AI risks,” she added.
She said it would make the EU the “de facto” global standard for reliable AI, leaving every other region, including the UK, to “play catch-up.”
The objective of the AI Act
The Act’s primary objective is to regulate AI based on its potential to cause harm to society, implementing stricter regulations for higher-risk applications.
Certain AI systems that pose a “clear risk to fundamental rights”, such as those used for processing biometric data, will be banned. Other AI systems considered “high-risk” such as those used in critical sectors like infrastructure, education, healthcare, law enforcement, border management or elections, will be subject to strict requirements.
Conversely, low-risk services, such as spam filters, will encounter lighter regulation. Most services are expected to fall into this category.
The Act also includes provisions targeting risks posed by generative AI tools and chatbots, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
These would require producers of general-purpose AI systems to be transparent regarding the material used to train their models and comply with EU copyright laws.
Prior to the vote, Mr. Turodache informed reporters that the copyright provisions had been one of the “heaviest lobbied” parts within the bill.
OpenAI, Stability AI, and graphics chip giant Nvidia are among several AI companies currently facing lawsuits over their utilization of data to train generative models.
Some members of the artistic community have raised objections, arguing that the process of “scraping” vast amounts of data, potentially including their own creations, from various online sources is a violation of copyright laws.
The Act must undergo several more steps before it formally turns into a law.
Lawyer-linguists will scrutinize its text, and the European Council – comprising of representatives from EU member states – must also endorse it, thought that is typically a formality.
Meanwhile, businesses are preparing ways to comply with the impending legislation.
Kirsten Rulf, formerly an advisor to the German government and currently a partner at Boston Consulting Group, states that over 300 firms have reached out to her company so far.
“They want to know how to scale the tech, and get value from AI,” she told agencies. “Businesses need and want the legal certainty.”
Agency: BBC
EU Parliament AI
