European Union continues to take major steps to regulate emerging technologies, like AI and crypto.
In a significant stride towards the governance of artificial intelligence, the European Parliament has approved the EU AI Act. This groundbreaking piece of legislation aims to provide a comprehensive structure for Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation and surveillance within the European Union.
This legislative measure successfully navigated the parliamentary process, gaining approval during the June 14th vote. An overwhelming majority of 499 members of parliament voted in favor of the act, with just 28 opposing and 93 abstaining.
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Following this approval, detailed negotiations with European Parliament members will ensue to refine the nuances of the bill before it transforms into law.
The European Commission initially suggested the EU AI Act on April 21st, envisioning it as a holistic rulebook for AI advancement within the European Union. As stated in a European Parliament press release:
The rules aim to promote the uptake of human-centric and trustworthy AI and protect the health, safety, fundamental rights and democracy from its harmful effects.
Upon its implementation, the act is expected to prohibit certain AI services and products while imposing limitations on others. The list of banned technologies includes biometric surveillance, predictive policing, emotion recognition, social scoring systems, and indiscriminate facial recognition systems.
However, generative AI models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, will be permitted, provided their results are explicitly identified as AI-generated. This could mean that the Irish Data Protection Commission's (DPC) disapproval of Google Bard may be no longer valid.
As the act solidifies into law, any AI system posing a significant threat to "people's health, safety, fundamental rights or the environment" or potentially influencing voters and election outcomes will be classified as high-risk, mandating further governance.
The EU AI Act's parliamentary passage comes on the heels of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill being enacted into law on May 31st. Leading industry figures were instrumental in advocating for these regulations in both instances.
The milestone approval of the EU AI Act symbolizes a significant leap towards an accountable and secure AI future in the European Union, mirroring recent legislative advancements in the realm of crypto-assets.
