Two key groups of lawmakers at the European Parliament on Tuesday ratified a provisional agreement on landmark artificial intelligence rules ahead of a vote by the legislative assembly in April that will pave the way for the world’s first legislation on the technology.
Called the AI Act, the new rules aim to set the guardrails for a technology used in a broad swathe of industries, ranging from banking to cars to electronic products and airlines, as well as for security and police purposes.
The rules will also regulate foundation models or generative AI like the one built by Microsoft-backed OpenAI , which are AI systems trained on large sets of data, with the ability to learn from new data to perform various tasks.
Responding to the news, AI expert John Kirk, the Deputy CEO at ITG: “The rapid adoption of AI will bring seismic changes to the way businesses operate, impacting both jobs and the wider digital economy.
“Deployed correctly, AI will empower growth and transform the creative industries, but this must be done responsibly. Having a broad legal framework in place to ensure high standards of governance is a logical next step forward, to ensure that organisations make the most of AI, whilst adhering to the necessary regulatory rules.”
“AI Act takes a step forward: MEPs in @EP_Justice & @EP_SingleMarket have endorsed the provisional agreement on an Artificial Intelligence Act that ensures safety and complies with fundamental rights,” one of the two European Parliament committees said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
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EU policymakers agree deal on ‘AI Act’ to regulate industry