In the end determination prevailed
over fatigue.
Europe has made history by delivering an armoury of rules, the
first in the world, to regulate the development and use of
artificial intelligence systems.
The deal was reached after marathon, 36-hour-long negotiations,
giving an idea of the complexity of the challenge the EU took on
to draft a judicial framework for AI, weaving together a
delicate balance between fundamental rights and support for
innovation.
Brussels travelled on unexplored terrain, one that needed to be
defined when faced with the opportunities and risks presented by
the development of AI, which 'exploded' with the spread of
chatbots like ChatGPT.
"It's a historic moment," said Ursula von der Leyen, celebrating
one of the flagship elements of her term at the helm of the
European Commission, which presented the proposal in 2021.
"The AI Act will make a substantial contribution to the
development of global rules and principles for human-centric
AI," said the head of the EU executive.
This is a reference to the so-called 'Brussels effect', with the
EU hoping to shape AI rules at the international level, as has
happened in other spheres.
"It is a significant step for the development of artificial
intelligence in the EU and in Italy," said Italian Business
Minister Adolfo Urso and Alessio Butti, the cabinet
undersecretary with the innovation portfolio, in a statement on
the agreement, which will have to get final approval from the
member States and the European Parliament.
So what does the law create that is new?
At the core of the act is the adoption of an approach based on
risk.
A series of obligations are envisioned for AI system developers
and providers on the basis of the different risk levels
identified.
One of the most important chapters, and one which the
negotiations were stranded on for hours, regards the AI
practices to be banned because they entail unacceptable risks
for security and basic rights.
The symbol of this battle is the ban on real-time remote
biometric identification systems, such as facial recognition
systems, use of which will be limited to specific cases.
"Some governments, including the Italian one, would have liked
more freedom in putting citizens under control and profiling but
they came up against an insurmountable wall from us in the
protection of freedom," said Brando Benifei, the head of the
Democratic Party (PD) delegation in the European Parliament and
co-rapporteur of the act.
Amnesty International, however, said the EU has "greenlighted
dystopian digital surveillance in the 27 EU Member States,
setting a devastating precedent globally concerning artificial
intelligence (AI) regulation".
European Consumer Organization BEUC was also critical,
complaining that "the result is underwhelming given the breadth
of risks consumers will be improperly protected from in the
future".
One of the most controversial points regards foundation models
like GPT-4, which is at the base of ChatGPT.
The agreement foresees more stringent obligations for
high-impact models with systemic risks.
These are rules which Berlin, Paris and, to some degree, Rome,
would have liked to have watered down to a code of conduct, out
of fears the burdens imposed could suffocate innovation in the
EU.
"We are not yet convinced that this is the right way to
guarantee that Europe remains competitive in AI," said EPP MEP
Axel Voss.
"Innovation will happen anyway, elsewhere.
"Here we missed our chance".
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