The European Parliament’s civil liberties (LIBE) and internal market (IMCO) committees have given their overwhelming endorsement to the draft legislation for regulating applications of artificial intelligence. The committees voted 71-8 in favor of the compromise negotiated with EU Member States, marking a significant step forward for the EU AI Act.
Key Takeaway
The EU AI Act, which sets rules for AI developers and applications, has gained strong support from parliamentary committees, signaling a step closer to adoption. The legislation aims to regulate AI based on risk and purpose, with provisions for high-risk uses and transparency requirements.
Regulating Artificial Intelligence
The EU AI Act, initially proposed by the Commission in April 2021, aims to establish a risk-based framework for regulating AI applications. The legislation sets rules for AI developers based on the power of their models and the intended purpose of their AI. It includes a list of prohibited uses of AI, such as social scoring, and outlines rules for a defined set of high-risk uses, including obligations in areas like data quality, testing, and risk assessment. Additionally, it imposes transparency requirements on general-purpose AIs and tools like deepfakes and AI chatbots.
Scope of the Law
Under the EU AI Act, most AI applications will be categorized as ‘low risk’ and fall outside the scope of the law. The legislation also provides for the establishment of regulatory sandboxes at the national level to enable developers to develop, train, and test risky apps in a supervised “real-world” environment.
Compromise and Challenges
The proposal for an AI rulebook by the Commission gained global attention due to the rise of generative AI. The compromise text, resulting from marathon trilogue talks in December, includes provisions for general-purpose AIs, leading to lingering opposition from some governments. However, a critical Member State vote on the compromise text earlier this month has paved the way for the bill’s likely adoption.
Despite the remaining steps for adoption, including a plenary vote in the parliament and a final Council endorsement, the strong backing by the parliamentary committees indicates a high likelihood of the law being adopted and entering into force later this year.
