European Parliament lawmakers will vote to kickstart talks to approve the world’s first sweeping rules on artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, aiming to curb potential harms while nurturing innovation. Although the EU’s plans date back to 2021, the draft rules took on greater urgency when ChatGPT exploded onto the scene last year, showing off AI’s dizzying development and the possible risks.
There is also growing clamour to regulate AI across the Atlantic, as pressure grows on Western governments to act fast in what some describe as a battle to protect humanity.
While AI proponents hail the technology for how it will transform society, including work, healthcare and creative pursuits, others are terrified by its potential to undermine democracy.
Once adopted by the EU parliament, officials say negotiations for a final law with the bloc’s 27 member states will begin almost immediately, starting later Wednesday. The race is on to strike an agreement on final legislation by the end of the year.
Even if that ambitious target is achieved, the law would not come into force until 2026 at the earliest, forcing the EU to push for a voluntary interim pact with tech companies. Brussels and the United States agreed last month to release a common code of conduct on AI to develop standards among democracies.
Lawmakers have hailed the draft law as “historic” and pushed back against critics who say the EU’s plans could harm rather than encourage innovation.
“Is this the right time for Europe to regulate AI? My answer is resolutely yes — it is the right time because of the profound impact AI has,” MEP Dragos Tudorache said during Tuesday’s parliamentary debate in Strasbourg.
“What we can do here is to create trust, legal certainty, to enable AI to develop in a positive manner,” European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager said. The EU’s proposed high-risk list includes AI in critical infrastructure, education, human resources, public order and migration management.
Source: eNCA
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