Europe passes draft AI law: Know what it entails
What's the story
The European Union (EU) has been leading the race to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) for a while. The bloc has now taken a significant step toward grappling with the challenges posed by AI systems.
European lawmakers passed the draft version of the AI Act, a legislation that will govern the usage of AI in the region.
Let's see what it means for the technology.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The proliferation of AI tools over the past few months has posed a unique challenge to lawmakers worldwide. The question of how to regulate them before it is too late is in everyone's head.
However, most countries are unclear on how to go about this. The EU's AI Act could serve as a model for policymakers around the world.
AI Act
Passing the draft legislation is part of a long process
The AI Act was first proposed by the European Commission two years ago. In April 2023, European lawmakers reached a preliminary agreement on the act.
Now, the European Parliament, the EU's main legislative body, has passed the draft version of the legislation.
This is just one step in a long process. The final version won't be passed at least until later this year.
Transparency
Companies will have to disclose copyrighted material used for training
The draft version of the AI Act imposes transparency requirements on companies working on generative AI. They will need to disclose copyrighted material used for training AI systems.
AI companies have opposed this time and again. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic will also need to put safeguards to prevent AI systems from generating illegal content.
Risk-based
The AI Act follows a risk-based approach
The EU's legislation follows a risk-based approach. AI systems considered "high risk" will need to be registered with the EU.
This includes AI systems used for operating critical infrastructure and in law enforcement. Before deploying them, makers of such technology would have to conduct risk assessments.
The act also seeks to prohibit certain kinds of AI technology.
Prohibition
Act will prohibit the real-time usage of facial recognition
The AI Act will prohibit the usage of facial recognition in real time. The lawmaker also voted in favor of imposing limits on using the technology on pre-recorded footage.
This is primarily because facial recognition technology is dogged with biases. The act would also ban companies from scraping biometric data to build databases.
It will prohibit devices that exhibit cognitive behavioral manipulation as well.
Next step
Three branches of EU will negotiate the final version
In the European Parliament, the draft AI Act was passed by a large margin, with 499 lawmakers voting in favor of it.
Now, the three branches of the EU, including the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the European Union, will negotiate the final version of the act.
Europe aims to reach an agreement soon.