A key piece of legislation that will serve as the foundation for a new law that will govern artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT was approved by EU lawmakers on Wednesday with the intention of encouraging technological innovation.
The European Parliament and the 27 EU member states will begin negotiations on the final law later Wednesday.
On the off chance that Brussels hits its aggressive objective of agreeing before the year’s over, it would be the world’s most memorable regulation controlling computer-based intelligence.
Although the EU’s plans date back to 2021, ChatGPT’s meteoric rise to prominence last year highlighted AI’s staggering advancements and potential dangers.
“We could also consider some reduced timing for some AI, such as foundation models and generative AI.”
Brando Benifei,
Over the Atlantic, there is also a growing demand to regulate AI, as Western governments are under increasing pressure to act quickly in what some people call a fight to protect humanity.
Others are concerned about the technology’s potential to undermine democracy, despite AI advocates hailing its potential to transform work, healthcare, and creative endeavors.
A “final Beatles record” was created using AI, and the chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI and based in the United States, has passed tests in business, law, and medicine.
The EU would be forced to push for a voluntary interim pact with tech companies even if its ambitious legislative goal is met. This means that the law would not take effect until 2026 at the earliest.
Increase efficiency in implementation. The law would regulate AI in accordance with the degree of risk: The responsibilities of the systems increase in proportion to the risk to individuals’ rights or health, for instance.
AI in critical infrastructure, education, human resources, public order, and migration management are included on the EU’s proposed high-risk list.
Before the high-risk classification could be met, the parliament added additional conditions, including the potential to harm people’s rights, health, safety, or the environment.
In addition, generative AI systems like ChatGPT and DALL-E, which are capable of producing text, images, code, audio, and other media, must inform users that the content was produced by a machine rather than a human.
Additionally, AI systems that employ so-called predictive policing, emotion recognition, and biometric surveillance were proposed to be outlawed by lawmakers.
Brando Benifei, a Member of the European Parliament who is in charge of the law in parliament, told journalists on Tuesday that there are talks about whether to speed up the law’s implementation or to make rules earlier for generative AI.
Benifei stated, “We could also consider some reduced timing for some AI, such as foundation models and generative AI.”
He supported his position by citing plans by the United States and Brussels to publish a common AI code of conduct to establish standards among democracies.
Critics have argued that the EU’s plans could hinder rather than promote innovation, but lawmakers have responded by hailing their draft law as “historic.”
Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the internal market, praised the vote and insisted that “there is no time to lose.”
“AI raises a lot of social, ethical, and economic questions. However, Breton stated, “This is not the time to press any ‘pause button’.” In contrast, it’s all about speed and taking responsibility.”
