11/03/2024
Looking ahead to the EU AI Act
Introduction In February 2024 EU lawmakers reached an agreement on the “Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence” (the so-called AI Act). The final adoption and entering into force of this of this ground-breaking law is now imminent. The European Parliament adopted the AI Act by a large majority on 13 March 2024. Following alinguistic and systematic revision by the legal teams, a corrigendum implementing the changes following from this review was adopted on 17 April 2024 by the European Parliament. This final text now requires formal approval by the Council of the European Union, which is expected for May 2024. With this adoption of the world’s most significant legislation on Artificial Intelligence, solidifying its position as a pioneer among global legislators. This initiative aims to establish and reinforce the EU’s role as a premier hub for AI while ensuring that AI development remains focused on human-centered and trustworthy principles. To expedite the achievement of these goals, on 8 December 2023, after three days of debate, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union finally reached a provisional agreement on the “Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence” (the so-called AI Act), which aims to ensure that AI systems placed on the European market are safe and respect the fundamental rights and values of the EU. Subsequent to this provisional agreement, technical refinement of the AI Act continued to finalise the regulation’s details and text. After a long and complex journey that began in 2021 with the European Commission’s proposal of a draft AI Act, this new regulation is expected to be passed into law in spring 2024. The AI Act aims to ensure that the marketing and use of AI systems and their outputs in the EU are consistent with fundamental rights under EU law, such as privacy, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability. Adopting a dual approach, it outright prohibits AI systems deemed to pose unacceptable risks while imposing regulatory obligations on other AI systems and their outputs. The new regulation, which also aims to strike a fair balance between innovation and the protection of individuals, not only makes Europe a world leader in the regulation of this new technology, but also endeavours to create a legal framework that users of AI technologies will be able to comply with in order to make the most of this significant development opportunity. In this article we provide a first overview of the key points contained in the text of the AI Act1This article (including the relevant citations below) is based on AIA Corrigendum as adopted by the European Parliament on the 17 April 2024. This article (inclufootnote that companies should be aware of in order to prepare for the implementing regulation.
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