The European Parliament ratified this Wednesday the artificial intelligence law agreed upon in December by the community institutions, the first to regulate this technology in the world, and thus took an important step towards its definitive approval in the European Union.
“I welcome the overwhelming support of the European Parliament for our artificial intelligence law, the world's first global and binding standard for reliable artificial intelligence,” said European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, after the vote.
In the plenary session this Wednesday, the law obtained broad support, being approved by 523 votes in favor, 46 against and 49 abstentions.
The original bill, considered unprecedented worldwide, had been presented by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, in April 2021.
However, The appearance at the end of 2022 of ChatGPT, from the Californian company OpenAI, capable of writing dissertations, poems or making translations in seconds, gave the project a new dimension.
This system revealed the enormous potential of AI, but also exposed its risks. The spread of fake photographs or videos highlighted the danger of manipulation of public opinion.
“This is a historic day in our long path towards the regulation of Artificial Intelligence,” said Italian legislator Brando Benifei, one of the speakers of the text, along with Romanian Dragos Tudorache.
In his last speech before the vote, Benifei said it is the “first regulation in the world that defines a clear path towards human-centered development of Artificial Intelligence.”.
For his part, Tudorache said that “we have achieved a very delicate balance between the interest in innovation and the interests that must be protected.”
After this Wednesday's vote, It is expected that the 27 countries of the bloc will support this law in April, and that the text will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the month of May.. Of course, it will not be until 2026 when it comes into force.
What does the law consist of?
The regulations allow or prohibit the use of this technology depending on the risk it poses to citizens and, with it, the EU aims to set an example for the rest of the world and boost European industry against the United States and China.
This is a historic day in our long path towards the regulation of Artificial Intelligence.
In general terms, the artificial intelligence law prohibits mass surveillance in public spaces, but allows law enforcement agencies to use biometric identification cameras, with prior judicial authorization, to prevent an imminent terrorist threat.
The adopted regulations provide that “General purpose” AI models will need to comply with transparency obligations as well as European copyright rules.
Meanwhile, systems considered “high risk” (such as those used in critical infrastructure, education or law enforcement) will be subject to stricter requirements.
These systems will have to provide for the implementation of a mandatory impact analysis on fundamental rights.
The text supported by MEPs also provides prohibit citizen rating or mass surveillance systems, or even remote biometric identification of people in public places.
The legislation defines means of surveillance and sanctions, through the creation of a European AI Office.
This body may impose fines ranging from 7.5 million euros or 1.5% of the turnover of the affected companies, up to 35 million euros or 7% of the global turnover, depending on the violation and the size of the company. company.
Nevertheless, Not all voices are so enthusiastic about the regulations.
“Many of these new rules remain unclear and could slow down the development and implementation of innovative applications,” said Boniface de Champris, European director of the CCIA, an industry lobby.
While, the Multinational Observatory (France), the European Business Observatory (Belgium) and LobbyControl (Germany) fear that lobby groups will weaken the implementation of AI regulations.
“Many details of the law remain open and need to be clarified,” those three entities said in a joint statement.
The composition of the advisory board of the new European AI agency is also not clear,” they noted.
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