EU member states support political agreement to promote AI legislation
The European Union has boosted its artificial intelligence (AI) regulatory framework, with member states voting to approve the final text of EU AI legislation.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton confirmed the political agreement reached in December 2023 by all 27 member states. In a post on social media, X said AI law is historic and first-world.
AI Regulation is a risk-based strategy for regulating AI applications. The agreement covers government use of AI in biometric surveillance, how to regulate AI systems like ChatGPT and transparency rules to be followed before entering the market.
Signed!
Coreper I ambassadors confirmed the final text of the agreement on the proposal for agreed rules on artificial intelligence (#AIAct).
The AI Act is a milestone in marking the 1st set of rules, making it safe and respecting fundamental rights. pic.twitter.com/QUe2Sr89A5
— Belgium President of the Council of the European Union 2024 (@EU2024BE) February 2, 2024
Following the December political agreement, efforts began to turn the positions agreed upon into a final treaty text in a “core” vote of all member states' permanent representatives on February 2.
Experts have raised concerns about deepfakes – realistic but fabricated videos trained on online footage by AI algorithms – appearing on social media and blurring the lines between fact and fiction in public discourse.
Margrethe Vestager, president of the EU Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said Friday's agreement was a major step forward for AI legislation. She said:
“Based on a simple idea: the more dangerous the AI, the greater the developers' liabilities. For example, if it's used to sort applicants for a job or get into an educational program. That's why the #AI Act focuses on high-risk issues.
The agreement on Friday came as France withdrew its opposition to the AI law. On January 30, Germany backed the move after Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport Volker Wiesing announced that an agreement had been reached.
Related: UK risks losing AI race amid safety-over-opportunity approach
The AI law is set to go on to become law with a key EU legislative committee vote on February 13 and a European Parliament vote in March or April. It is expected to enter into force in 2026, with certain provisions taking effect earlier.
The European Commission is taking steps to establish an AI office to monitor compliance with a group of high-impact fundamental models deemed to pose a systemic risk. In addition, it announced measures to support domestic AI developers, such as upgrading the EU's supercomputer network for generative AI model training.
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