EU regulators drop some serious AI rules
The European Parliament has given the green light to new rules for artificial intelligence, after a long process of negotiations and approvals. This legislation aims to regulate AI development in order to protect fundamental rights and promote innovation in Europe.
Key Points of the AI Act
The AI Act defines obligations for AI applications based on potential risks and impacts. It bans practices like biometric categorization systems based on sensitive characteristics and untargeted scraping of images for facial recognition databases.
Prohibited Applications and Regulations
Certain applications, such as social scoring, emotion recognition in schools and workplaces, and AI that manipulates human behavior, will be banned. Predictive policing based on profiling or discrimination will also be prohibited. High-risk AI applications, like those in law enforcement and healthcare, must follow strict conditions to ensure transparency and user safety. Additionally, generative AI models and manipulated media will require clear labeling and compliance with copyright laws.
The AI Act sets high standards for the development and operation of AI systems, with penalties for non-compliance reaching up to €35 million or seven percent of global annual profits. US-based AI providers operating in the EU will also be subject to these regulations.
Keeping AI in Check
In order to make sure that AI technologies are used responsibly, each country within the European Union will establish its own AI watchdog. Additionally, a central AI Office will be created by the European Commission. This office will be responsible for developing strategies to assess AI models and monitor any potential risks associated with general-purpose models.
