European Union adopts first AI Law

Source-This post on European Union adopts first AI Law has been created based on the article “With first of its kind EU law, a framework that allows imaginative AI regulation” published in “The Indian Express” on 16 March 2024.

UPSC Syllabus – GS Paper-3 – Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology

News– The European Parliament has passed the first comprehensive regulatory regime for artificial intelligence, laying down “harmonized rules” called the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act, 2024).

What are the provisions of the Artificial Intelligence Act?

1) Objective-To improve the internal market’s functioning by laying down a uniform legal framework for use of artificial intelligence systems in the Union.

2) Jurisdiction-It states that provisions will apply to AI providers for services in the European Union, irrespective of whether the providers are in the EU or in a third country.

3) Restricted Activities-It prohibits certain AI practices that can distort the behavior of a person or a group of persons by impairing their ability to make an informed decision.

4) Establishing Artificial Intelligence Board– There will be establishment of European Artificial Intelligence Board. The board will have representatives from member states and the Commission.
Further, within each nation state a national supervisory authority will be tasked with monitoring the application and implementation of the new law.

5) Imposition of fines-Fines will vary from 30 million euros or 6 per cent of the total worldwide annual turnover. Fines depend on the severity of the infringement.

6) Time period-The new law will not come into force immediately. It gives AI developers and providers time to familiarize themselves with the regulations. The law will come into force in phases varying from six to 36 months (about 3 years).

What is unique about the act?

It categorizes AI into its potential for harm based on the level of intelligence of the programme.
1) It explicitly bans “harmful AI practices” that are a “clear threat to people”. It also lists 4 harmful practices in the act.

2) It seeks to regulate “high risk AI systems” that create “adverse impact on people’s safety or their fundamental rights.” The law has two kinds of high-risk AI systems.

3) It regulates AI systems that present limited risk such as systems that interact with humans like chatbots, emotion recognition systems, and AI systems that manipulate image, audio or video (deepfakes). These systems would also be subject to a limited set of transparency obligations.

4) It will provide ways to imagine the regulatory regime for AI to other countries.

Question for practice

What are the provisions of the recently enacted European Union AI Act?