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- 1 E.U. starts working on the AI Act, which was first proposed in April 2021.
- 2 The European Union is taking the “trialogue” approach to clarify the act.
Right after pioneering crypto regulations with MiCA, the E.U. continues its forward-facing stride by seeking to pass the Artificial Intelligence Act or AI Act. First proposed in April 2021, the act seeks to deliver on the promises to deliver a coordinated European regulatory approach towards the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence. Lawmakers are working hard to pass the act, which shall be applicable across all 27 E.U. member nations.
E.U. Could Soon Regulate Artificial Intelligence with Upcoming AI Act
Following the proposal put forward by the European Commission in 2021, the Council of European Union adopted a “general approach” to the act in December 2022. During this approach, the Council refined the definition of the Artificial Intelligence system to be encompassed in the act.
On June 14, 2023, the European Parliament voted to adopt a negotiation position on the act, involving discussion between the three branches of the European Union – the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council. This would bring forward three versions of the act via a “trialogue” procedure.
The current draft of the regulation applies to the businesses providing artificial intelligence systems within the E.U. The global position of such companies’ HQ would not matter, which means that irrespective of their home country, they would be subjected to the act.
The E.U. Artificial Intelligence Act would be pioneering the regulation of artificial intelligence and could gain the first-mover advantage. It can set the benchmark for other countries, similar to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act 2018 for data privacy.
The upcoming regulatory framework is intended to strike a perfect balance between safety, regulation, economic interest, citizens’ rights, and innovation. Experts believe that a stricter set of rules could hamper artificial intelligence innovation in the E.U. market. Consequently, the Parliament has proposed keeping open-source AI components and research out of regulation and promoting a “regulatory sandbox.”
To enhance the scope of the draft and supposed regulation, the definition of artificial intelligence and what it entails plays a crucial role. To avoid the traditional computational processes or software being caught in the crossfire, the E.U. Council and Parliament altered the definition.
For now, it aligns with the definitions provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NITS), which says,
“A machine-based system designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, generate outputs such as prediction, recommendations, or decisions that influence physical or virtual environments.”
Many jurisdictions like the United States and the United Kingdom are also working on creating a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. Only time will reveal who gets there first.
Route to Execution of the Artificial Intelligence Act
In July 2023, during the usual rotating presidency of the Council, Spain will take the seat and it is believed that it will finalize the act on priority. However, it is still early to say when the Artificial Intelligence Act will come into force. If an agreement is reached during the “trialogue” sometime during late 2023 for a consensus version to be passed as law. It would then be subjected to a two-year implementation process.
During this process, the governing authority for the act will have to be created, which could be called the European Artificial Intelligence Office. Considering all the backend and frontend procedures required for its implementation, it may be deployed by the end of 2025 at the earliest.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
