A few days ago, an agreement was reached within the European Union on an "Artificial Intelligence Act", which will be officially published after the relevant legislative procedures. This has the potential to be the world's first comprehensive regulation in the field of artificial intelligence. What kind of bill is it, and what impact will it have on the development of artificial intelligence?
The bill classifies the application of AI technology into four levels according to risk categories, from low to high, and formulates corresponding regulatory rules according to different risk levels.
For generative AI, which is currently attracting much attention, that is, large AI models including ChatGPT, the bill has made clear regulatory provisions that must meet basic transparency requirements and will be more strictly regulated.
For those high-risk applications of AI technology, the EU will conduct a rigorous assessment before placing products using the relevant technology on the market.
AI systems that pose an unacceptable risk to human safety, including systems that purposefully manipulate technology, exploit human weaknesses, or evaluate based on behavior, social status, and personal characteristics, will be prohibited.
Back in April 2021, the EU proposed a draft negotiation mandate for this bill. After the large AI model attracted widespread attention this year, the European Union has accelerated the pace of advancing the Artificial Intelligence Act. According to the latest information learned by this reporter, this bill will take effect early next year at the earliest.
The intent to protect the local market and the development of the business is self-evident
The EU's Artificial Intelligence Act can be said to be a comprehensive consideration of the international community on the technological development of artificial intelligence, public concerns, international competition, risk management, etc., which is of far-reaching significance. However, during the interview, the reporter of the main station also found that this bill still hides some "careful opportunities" of the European Union.
European Commission's Internal Market Commissioner Bretton: The AI Act is not only a rulebook, but also a booster for EU start-ups and researchers to lead the global AI race.
This is the remark made by an EU official in an interview after the agreement on the bill, and it is worth noting that he emphasized that the bill is not only a rulebook, but also a booster for EU researchers to participate in the AI race.
During the interview, the reporter learned that from the current development of artificial intelligence technology in the world, compared with China and the United States, EU countries are in the leading position in the field of artificial intelligence, and there is still a big gap in the speed and scale of innovation.
The EU's eagerness to preemptively formulate regulatory bills this time defines itself as a pioneer in global standard-setting, and the intention to protect local markets and business development is self-evident.
Shi Yue, Chief Engineer of the Legal Research Department of the Institute of Political Science and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology: The European Union's introduction of the Artificial Intelligence Act is likely to become the world's first high-level legal framework on artificial intelligence. It is hoped that it will continue to maintain its local digital sovereignty and digital security in the field of artificial intelligence, and enhance its international discourse in the formulation of artificial intelligence rules.
Once the EU law is implemented, it may have an impact on some AI development companies, may also conflict with the regulations of various countries, and even affect the regulation of AI applications in other countries. Experts believe that AI governance is a common issue faced by all countries in the world, and dialogue should be strengthened to build consensus.
Shi Yue, Chief Engineer of the Legal Research Department of the Institute of Political Science and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology: Many countries around the world are actively promoting relevant legislation, and China also attaches great importance to the formulation of AI governance rules, and has issued relevant management regulations in the fields of generative AI and algorithms. The governance of artificial intelligence has been further implemented from the discussion of concepts to the legal system.
In July 2017, China issued the "New Generation of Artificial Intelligence Development Plan", pointing out that it is necessary to establish a system of artificial intelligence laws, regulations, ethical norms and policies, and form artificial intelligence security assessment and control capabilities. Just last month, at the Global AI Security Summit held in the UK, my delegation proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative, encouraging all parties to work together to build an open, fair and effective governance mechanism to jointly promote the healthy, orderly and safe development of global AI.
(CCTV news client, CCTV reporter Zhu Jiang, Zhang Congjing, Tang Zhijian)