The European Union officials have arrived at an agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act, a set of regulations on artificial intelligence, (AI) thus providing a mood-board for other nations looking to limit the harms of AI. The European Parliament will vote on the Act by the end of December or early next year.
In an official release, The European Parliament writes, “This regulation aims to ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability are protected from high-risk AI, while boosting innovation and making Europe a leader in the field. The rules establish obligations for AI based on its potential risks and level of impact,”
“It was long and intense, but the effort was worth it. Thanks to the European Parliament’s resilience, the world’s first horizontal legislation on artificial intelligence will keep the European promise — ensuring that rights and freedoms are at the center of the development of this ground-breaking technology,” says co-rapporteur Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy). “Correct implementation will be key — the Parliament will continue to keep a close eye, to ensure support for new business ideas with sandboxes, and effective rules for the most powerful models.”
The Act also states that companies cannot deploy “AI systems that manipulate human behavior to circumvent their free will” or “exploit the vulnerabilities of people (due to their age, disability, social or economic situation).”
Aiming to nurture the development of innovative AI systems, the provisional law includes promoting “regulatory sandboxes” and other real-world testing environments where companies, especially smaller ones, can develop and train innovative AI systems before they are released to the general public.
There has also been agreed potential punishments for violations, ranging from fines up to 35 million euros ($37.7 million) or 7% of a company’s “global turnover,” depending on the gravity of the infringement and the size of the offending company.
