Artificial intelligence: EU countries give their green light to new legislation
The member states of the European Union (EU) approved this Friday, February 2, a first law to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) which sparked intense negotiations until the end, announced the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU.
European Union member states have agreed on legislation to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). © DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
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The ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven have “
unanimously confirmed
"this Friday the political agreement reached last December between the Member States and the MEPs, indicated the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU on X (ex-Twitter), in unison with several sources diplomatic. Some countries, including France and Germany, had raised points of concern, which were taken into account before finalizing the text, according to diplomats. “
This
“AI Act”
is a milestone, establishing the first rules on the planet aimed at
artificial intelligence
, to make it more secure and respectful of the fundamental rights of the EU
», affirmed the Belgian presidency.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton, in charge of the file, welcomed a “
historic” regulation, a world first
". “
The AI law has unleashed passions, and rightly so! Today, member states approved the December political agreement, recognizing the perfect balance found by negotiators between innovation and security
,” he said.
The European Commission presented its “AI Act” project in April 2021. But the appearance at the end of 2022 of ChatGPT, from the Californian start-up OpenAI, capable of writing dissertations, poems or translations in a few seconds, gave a new dimension and caused the acceleration of discussions. This system, like those capable of creating sounds or images, revealed to the general public the immense potential of AI. But also certain risks: the dissemination on social networks of false photographs, larger than life, has alerted to the danger of manipulation of opinion.
Also read: OpenAI, parent company of ChatGPT, wants to fight against online disinformation
More flexible legislation on start-ups at the request of Paris and Berlin
Paris and Berlin were keen that European legislation protect start-ups specializing in artificial intelligence, so as not to prevent the emergence of future “
European champions
” of the sector. Tuesday in Berlin, German Digital Minister Volker Wissing was pleased to have “
been able to secure improvements for small and medium-sized businesses, avoid disproportionate requirements and ensure we remain internationally competitive
.”
On generative AI, rules will be imposed on everyone to ensure the quality of the data used in the development of the algorithms and to verify that they do not violate copyright legislation. Developers will also have to ensure that the sounds, images and texts produced are clearly identified as artificial.
Reinforced constraints will apply only to the most powerful systems. Systems deemed to be “high risk” – in sensitive areas such as critical infrastructure, education, human resources, policing, etc. – will be subject to a series of obligations such as providing for human control over the machine, the establishment of technical documentation, or even the implementation of a risk management system.
Read alsoSemiconductors: demand reinforced by the rush towards artificial intelligence
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