- The European parliament has voted in favor of adopting an AI Act by a large majority.
- The proposed law is the first law on AI by a major regulator, according to the Act’s website.
- The law aims to regulate the advanced technology and protect Europeans from potential risks.
The European Parliament has voted by a large majority in favor of adopting a wide-ranging proposed law on AI.
On Thursday, the lawmakers adopted a draft negotiating mandate with 84 votes in favor, 7 against, and 12 abstentions.
The proposed law is the first relating to AI by a major regulator, according to the AI Act website. It aims to regulate the advanced technology and protect Europeans from its potential risks.
The next step for the Act is plenary adoption, which is expected during the 12-15 June session.
Brando Benifei, one of the co-rapporteurs, said after the vote: “We are on the verge of putting in place landmark legislation that must resist the challenge of time. It is crucial to build citizens’ trust in the development of AI, to set the European way for dealing with the extraordinary changes that are already happening, as well as to steer the political debate on AI at the global level.”
The law plans to assess the risks of AI applications, assigning them to three categories.
The most extreme category is for AI systems or applications that cause unacceptable risk, these applications will be banned. The second is high-risk applications, which will be subject to specific legal requirements, and the third is applications that are not explicitly banned or listed as high-risk, which will largely be left unregulated.
AI systems that use purposefully manipulative techniques or engage in social scoring were both given as examples of applications that create an unacceptable risk.
Governments around the world are starting to consider how to regulate AI as concern about the tech’s safety grows. Public scrutiny of the technology has grown since OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT appeared to spark the release of several other AI products.
Last week, the Biden administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris, met with Big Tech CEOs at the White House to discuss AI. The meeting was part of a broader attempt by the administration to address issues around advanced AI.
In the UK, science, innovation, and technology secretary Chloe Smith met with Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the technology.