The European Union has moved a step closer to enacting the most
comprehensive guardrails on the fast-developing world of artificial
intelligence.
Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed a provisional
agreement on artificial intelligence (AI) rules, the world’s first
legislation on a technology used in banking, internet-connected devices,
smart homes and cars.
The European Parliament and EU countries had clinched a preliminary deal
in December after nearly 40 hours of negotiations on thorny issues such
as governments’ use of biometric surveillance and how to regulate
foundation models of generative AI such as ChatGPT.
In the absence of any legislation from the US, could set the tone for
how AI is governed in the western world. But the legislation’s passage
comes as companies worry the law goes too far and digital watchdogs say
it doesn’t go far enough.
“We’re laying out a common European vision for the future of this
technology, one where AI is more democratic and safe,” MEP Eva Maydell
said in parliament on Tuesday, “but also, I would hope, more competitive
– that is if it’s done right.”
The AI Act is intended to address concerns about bias, privacy and other
risks from the rapidly evolving technology. The legislation would ban
the use of AI for detecting emotions in workplaces and schools, as well
as limit how it can be used in situations such as sorting job
applications. It would also place the first restrictions on generative
AI tools, which captured the world’s attention last year with the
popularity of ChatGPT.
However, the bill has sparked concerns in the three months since
officials reached a breakthrough provisional agreement. As talks reached
the final stretch last year, the French and German governments pushed
back against some of the strictest ideas for regulating generative AI,
arguing that the rules will hurt European start-ups like France’s
Mistral AI and Germany’s Aleph Alpha.
Civil society groups such as Corporate Europe Observatory raised
concerns about the influence that Big Tech and European companies had in
shaping the final text.
“This one-sided influence meant that ‘general purpose AI,’ was largely
exempted from the rules and only required to comply with a few
transparency obligations,” watchdogs including the observatory and
LobbyControl wrote in a statement, referring to AI systems capable of
performing a wider range of tasks.
A recent announcement that Mistral had partnered with Microsoft raised
concerns from some lawmakers. Kai Zenner, a parliamentary assistant key
in the writing of the act and now an adviser to the United Nations on AI
policy, wrote that the move was strategically smart and “maybe even
necessary” for the French start-up, but said “the EU legislator got
played again”.
US and European companies have also raised concerns that the law will
limit the bloc’s competitiveness.
“With a limited digital tech industry and relatively low investment
compared with industry giants like the United States and China, the EU’s
ambitions of technological sovereignty and AI leadership face
considerable hurdles,” wrote Raluca Csernatoni, a research fellow at the
Carnegie Europe think tank.
Lawmakers during Tuesday’s debate acknowledged that there was still
significant work ahead. The EU is in the process of setting up its AI
Office, an independent body within the European Commission. In practice,
the office will be the key enforcer, with the ability to request
information from companies developing generative AI and possibly ban a
system from operating in the bloc.
“The rules we have passed in this mandate to govern the digital domain –
not just the AI Act – are truly historical, pioneering,” said Dragos
Tudorache, one of the leading authors of the law in the parliament. “But
making them all work in harmony with the desired effect and turning
Europe into the digital powerhouse of the future will be the test of our
lifetime.”
Bloomberg
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