Brussel: In a first in the world, the European Union (EU) Saturday December 09, 2023 announced an unprecedented agreement on comprehensive laws to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The regulations finalised after an intense 37-hour negotiation between the European Parliament and member states include safeguards on the use of AI within the EU as well as limitations on its adoption by law enforcement agencies.
"Following 3-day ‘marathon’ talks, the Council presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on the proposal on harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (AI), the so-called artificial intelligence act", the Council of the European Union said Saturday.
"The draft regulation aims to ensure that AI systems placed on the European market and used in the EU are safe and respect fundamental rights and EU values. This landmark proposal also aims to stimulate investment and innovation on AI in Europe", it said.
Hailing the announcement, Spain's Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, Carme Artigas, called it a "historic achievement and a huge milestone".
"This is a historic achievement, and a huge milestone towards the future! Today’s agreement effectively addresses a global challenge in a fast-evolving technological environment on a key area for the future of our societies and economies", she said.
"And in this endeavour, we managed to keep an extremely delicate balance: boosting innovation and uptake of artificial intelligence across Europe whilst fully respecting the fundamental rights of our citizens", she added.
She also highlighted the support from France and Germany, despite reported tensions with tech companies in those countries seeking a lighter approach to foster innovation.
Once the EU AI regulation comes into effect, consumers will have the right to launch complaints and fines could be imposed for violations.
The European Parliament defines AI as software that can "for a given set of human-defined objectives, generate outputs such as content, predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing the environments they interact with".
"To ensure that the definition of an AI system provides sufficiently clear criteria for distinguishing AI from simpler software systems, the compromise agreement aligns the definition with the approach proposed by the OECD", it said.
ChatGPT and DALL-E are examples of what is called "generative" AI. These programs learn from vast quantities of data, such as online text and images, to generate new content that feels like it has been made by a human.
The so-called "chatbots" - like ChatGPT - can have text conversations. Other AI programs like DALL-E can create images from simple text instructions.
The EU's regulatory framework positions it ahead of the US, China, and the UK, addressing potential risks associated with rapidly advancing AI technology.
While specific details of the laws remain undisclosed, the agreement emphasises a risk-based tiered system, focusing on machines posing the highest risks to health, safety, and human rights.
Notably, the legislation includes restrictions on AI-driven surveillance, securing a ban on real-time surveillance and biometric technologies with specific exceptions for unexpected terrorist threats, victim searches, and serious crime prosecution.
The EU's commitment to a human-centric approach, fundamental rights, and transparency sets a powerful example for global regulation, potentially influencing governments worldwide in shaping their AI policies.
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