The European Council has released "first-of-its-kind" rules called the ‘Artificial Intelligence Act’ to set standards for the regulation of AI within the European Union, which will likely influence policymakers elsewhere.
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The EU body has taken a risk-based approach to the new legislation, meaning the rules will be stricter depending on the threat level to the public.
The law is designed to ensure that AI systems in the EU’s public and private sectors are safe and trustworthy. It has also been established to respect the rights of EU citizens and foster business growth within the continent.
Mathieu Michel, Belgian Secretary of State for digitisation, administrative simplification, privacy protection, and building regulation, commented on the ‘landmark law’: “The adoption of the AI act is a significant milestone for the European Union.
This landmark law, the first of its kind in the world, addresses a global technological challenge that also creates opportunities for our societies and economies."
“With the AI Act, Europe emphasises the importance of trust, transparency and accountability when dealing with new technologies while at the same time ensuring this fast-changing technology can flourish and boost European innovation.”
Artificial Intelligence Act
The European Council explains that the Artificial Intelligence Act differentiates between AI systems with limited risk versus those with high risk. While limited-risk systems would only have to fulfil a light set of requirements, high-risk systems could still be authorised but with certain obligations that must be met to access the EU market.
However, it has already decided to ban cognitive behavioural manipulation and social scoring, as it represents an “unacceptable” level of risk. This includes the use of AI for predicting policing based on systems that use biometric data to profile and categorise people based on race, religion, and sexual orientation.
The Act can offer exemptions for AI systems used for military, defence, and research purposes.
General-purpose AI (GPAI) models will be treated according to their risk approach, imposing some requirements relating to transparency, for example, for those displaying limited risk and stricter rules for those with systemic risks.
New AI Governing Bodies Set Up
A new governance architecture has been created to ensure the legislation is effectively enforced.
