Artificial intelligence is finding its way into Google, Windows, Samsung cell phones and many other products. The EU now wants to regulate the use of the technology as follows.
Uniform rules will soon apply in the EU for artificial intelligences such as ChatGPT or Bard. (Source: agsandrew /depositphotos.com)
- The aim of the law is to minimize the dangers of AI without restricting the EU’s competitiveness in the field.
- For this purpose, AI algorithms and systems are classified according to two risk classes and restricted accordingly.
- For example, “social scoring” systems using AI or the indiscriminate collection of data for facial recognition should be banned.
There is hardly any other area of information technology that currently holds as much promise for the future as artificial intelligence. The term has been on everyone’s lips since the release of the first version of the generative AI software ChatGPT. The legislature also became aware of the new developments. In the EU there should now be a special law for the regulation of AI applications. We offer insight into what changes the paper should bring with it.
What is the AI Act and what is it about?
The European Union’s “AI Act”, which is currently a draft law, is the result of long discussions by the committees of the European Parliament, the EU Commission and the individual responsible members of the European Parliament (MEPs). As early as April 2021, the Commission proposed a first possible legal framework for the law with various recommendations.
Since then, negotiations have taken place from various sides, involving all three legislative-executive bodies of the European Union. On December 9, 2023, a provisional agreement was reached between the EU Parliament and the Council. In a further step, the law will be further negotiated in the committees of the EU Parliament. Before it becomes official EU law, it must be formally adopted by the EU Parliament and Council.
Maximize opportunities, minimize risks
With the new AI law, negotiators in the EU reached two key findings: systems based on artificial intelligence represent both an opportunity and a risk for the European Union and its citizens. The opportunity lies particularly in the economic and technological sectors, where the EU will have to keep up with the global market using current technology.
However, AI can become dangerous internally, where such algorithms can be used against citizens and could endanger democracy, the rule of law and freedom. The aim of the new law is to minimize the dangers posed by AI while at the same time fully exploiting its potential. Various mechanisms are used for this.
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