The European Union (EU) is about to enforce new, comprehensive rules on artificial intelligence (AI), setting a significant global benchmark. This legislation, known as the AI Act, is more detailed and stringent compared to the United States’ voluntary guidelines and China’s state-controlled regulations. Approved by EU countries on May 21, 2024, this law emphasizes trust, transparency, and accountability in AI use while promoting innovation.
The AI Act has been in development since 2021 and aims to address the rapid rise of AI technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. These AI systems have raised concerns about their potential to spread misinformation and infringe on copyrighted materials. The Act requires high-risk AI systems to meet strict transparency standards. For general-purpose AI models, the requirements are less stringent but still significant. Additionally, the use of real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces by governments is restricted to serious crime prevention, anti-terrorism efforts, and locating suspects of major crimes.
Companies outside the EU that use EU customer data must comply with these rules, similar to how they adapted to the EU’s GDPR privacy regulations. The Act also bans AI applications in social scoring, predictive policing, and indiscriminate facial recognition from the internet or CCTV footage. The implementation timeline for these rules includes immediate effects on certain AI applications, particularly those related to social scoring and predictive policing, which will face restrictions within six months of the law taking effect. Obligations for general-purpose AI models will come into force after 12 months, while rules for AI systems integrated into regulated products will apply after 36 months. Violations of the AI Act can result in fines ranging from 7.5 million euros (about $8.2 million) or 1.5% of annual turnover, up to 35 million euros or 7% of global turnover, depending on the severity of the breach.
Belgian Minister for Digitization, Mathieu Michel, highlighted that this law is the first of its kind globally, addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by AI. The AI Act is expected to influence international regulations, just as the GDPR did, by establishing a clear framework for managing AI responsibly. The EU’s AI Act represents a groundbreaking approach to regulating artificial intelligence, aiming to balance technological advancement with ethical considerations. By setting high standards for transparency and accountability, the EU hopes to foster trust in AI while encouraging innovation. The new rules are set to have a lasting impact not only within Europe but globally, as other regions may adopt similar regulations.
Source: Foo Yun Chee and Tassilo Hummel, Reuters, May 22, 2024. You can check the full article here.
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