European Union policymakers have agreed on a broad new set of rules to govern artificial intelligence.
The EU agreement represents one of the world’s first comprehensive initiatives to control the use of the rapidly expanding technology with far-reaching social and economic repercussions.
The A.I. Act establishes a new worldwide standard for governments wishing to capitalize on the potential advantages of artificial intelligence while guarding against potential concerns such as job automation, internet disinformation, and national security threats. The bill still has to go through a few additional processes before it can be approved, but the political accord implies that its broad contours have been established.
Germany, France, and Italy have argued against actively regulating generative AI models, dubbed “foundation models,” instead supporting self-regulation by the corporations behind them via government-mandated codes of behavior.
Their fear is that excessive regulation would limit Europe’s capacity to compete with Chinese and American leaders in technology. DeepL and Mistral AI, two of Europe’s most promising AI businesses, are based in Germany and France.
European policymakers focused on the most dangerous applications of artificial intelligence (AI) by businesses and governments, such as law enforcement and the operation of critical services such as water