It’s done. It’s over. Two and a half years after it was first introduced—after months of lobbying and political arm-wrestling, plus grueling final negotiations that took nearly 40 hours—EU lawmakers have reached a deal over the AI Act. It will be the world’s first sweeping AI law. The AI Act was conceived as a landmark bill that would mitigate harm in areas where using AI poses the biggest risk to fundamental rights, such as health care, education, border surveillance, and public services, as well as banning uses that pose an “unacceptable risk. “High risk” AI systems will have to adhere to strict rules that require risk-mitigation systems, high-quality data sets, better documentation, and human oversight, for example. The vast majority of AI uses, such as recommender systems and spam filters, will get a free pass. The AI Act is a major deal in that it will introduce important rules and enforcement mechanisms to a hugely influential sector that is currently a Wild West. Tech companies love to talk about how committed they are to AI ethics. But when it comes to concrete measures, the conversation dries up. And anyway, actions speak louder than words. Responsible AI teams are often the first to see cuts during layoffs, and in truth, tech companies can decide to change their AI ethics policies at any time. OpenAI, for example, started off as an “open” AI research lab before closing up public access to its research to protect its competitive advantage, just like every other AI startup.
Full report : Five things you need to know about the EU’s new AI Act.
