Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: AFP 5:33 p.m., February 2, 2024
The 27 member states of the European Union have approved unprecedented legislation at the global level to regulate artificial intelligence. The European Commissioner, Thierry Breton, in charge of the file, welcomed a “historic” regulation and “a world first”.
The member states of the European Union approved on Friday unprecedented legislation at the global level to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) which sparked intense negotiations until the end, announced the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU.
A “historic” regulation, a world first
During a meeting on Friday, the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven "unanimously confirmed" the political agreement reached last December between the Member States and the MEPs, she indicated on X (ex-Twitter) , in unison with several diplomatic sources. Some countries, including France and Germany, had raised points of concern, which were taken into account before finalizing the text, according to diplomats.
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“This 'AI Act' is a landmark step, 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, world first” regulation. “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” , did he declare.
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.
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On Tuesday in Berlin, German Digital Minister Volker Wissing was pleased to have "been able to obtain improvements for small and medium-sized businesses, avoid disproportionate requirements and ensure that 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, maintenance of order, etc. -- will be subject to a series of obligations such as those to provide human control of the machine, the establishment of technical documentation, or the implementation of a risk management system.