Europe is taking the lead in regulating AI with the AI Act
On May 11, 2023, the European Union (EU) passed the AI Act, which is the world’s first comprehensive legislation governing AI technology.
The Act classifies AI tools into four categories based on their perceived level of risk: unacceptable, high, limited, and minimal risks.
The governments and companies using AI tools will have different obligations depending on the risk level. For example, those using AI applications with unacceptable risk will be subject to stricter regulations, including prior authorization, mandatory testing, and transparency requirements.
The AI Act also imposes new restrictions on certain AI applications. Facial recognition technology will be banned in public spaces, while predictive policing tools will also be prohibited.
Generative AI applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT will be subject to new transparency measures to ensure that users understand that they are interacting with an AI system and not a human.
The EU has long been a proponent of strict regulation of AI technology and has invested heavily in research and development of AI technology. In 2020, the EU’s High-Level Expert Group on AI released its Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, which outlined seven key requirements that AI systems should meet to be considered trustworthy.
The AI Act’s passage is a significant achievement for European lawmakers, who have been working on the legislation for two years. The bill still needs to go through several stages before it becomes law, and there will be a grace period of around two years to allow affected parties to comply with the regulations.
The EU’s comprehensive approach to AI regulation could also have implications beyond Europe’s borders. With the EU being a major market for AI technologies, many businesses worldwide will have to comply with the new regulations if they want to operate in the region.
Read More:
- AP News: How Europe is leading the world in building guardrails around AI
- ABC News: In global rush to regulate AI, Europe set to be trailblazer
- IR Magazine: AI Act: EU moves closer to the world’s first artificial intelligence regulation
