The EU has agreed on the world's first comprehensive set of laws around artificial intelligence.
Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act yesterday.
This regulation aims to ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability are protected from high-risk AI, while boosting innovation in Europe.
The proposed laws will regulate services like ChatGPT and facial recognition are used in future.
MEPs must still vote to officially approve the Act, which won't come into effect until at least 2025.
'Milestone' agreement
Spain's AI minister Carme Artigas said it is a “landmark” day for the future of AI in the EU and around the world.
“It has been very long sessions, but I can definitely say that has been worth the few hours of sleep, the nerves and all the time we have spent these days to be able to celebrate the biggest milestone in the history of digital transformation in Europe for the single digital market and, I think, for the world,” she said.
Italian MEP Brando Benifei said this deal is a step in ensuring “rights and freedoms are at the centre of the development of this ground-breaking technology”.
“Correct implementation will be key - the Parliament will continue to keep a close eye, to ensure support for new business ideas with sandboxes, and effective rules for the most powerful models,” he said.
AI regulation
The proposed Artificial Intelligence Act bans several uses of AI, including “biometric categorisation” systems that use sensitive characteristics such as gender and religion.
The Act also bans “emotion recognition” in the workplace and educational institutions, “untargeted scraping” for facial recognition in CCTV footage and “AI systems that manipulate human behaviour to circumvent their free will”.
Reports have suggested Justice Minister Helen McEntee is seeking to expand legislation for facial recognition technology following riots in Dublin.
Fine Gael Minister of State Martin Heydon previously told Newstalk facial recognition technology could be a “major deterrent” for criminals.
