European Union reaches temporary agreement regarding AI Act, this is the first step at global level

London (Uttam Hindu News): The European Parliament said on Saturday that its members have reached a historic “provisional agreement” on the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). The EU’s AI Act is going to be the world’s first comprehensive regulation to control the harm caused to users by AI. “This regulation aims to ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability are protected from high-risk AI, while fostering innovation and making Europe a leader in the field,” the European Parliament said in a statement. are.”

The rules establish liability for AI based on its potential risks and level of impact. EU President Ursula von der Leyen said the political agreement is a first at the global level. He posted on Twitter, “The AI ​​Act is a global first – a unique legal framework for the development of AI that you can rely on to protect the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses. We took a commitment in our political guidelines and we fulfilled it.”

Recognizing the potential threat to citizens’ rights and democracy posed by some applications of AI, the co-legislators agreed to prohibit biometric category systems that use sensitive characteristics (political, religious, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, race). The agreement also prohibits untargeted scraping of facial images from the Internet or CCTV footage to create face recognition databases, emotion recognition in workplaces and educational institutions, and social scoring based on social behavior or personal characteristics.

It also curbs AI systems that disrupt human behavior by manipulating their free will and AI that is used to exploit people’s vulnerabilities (due to their age, disability, social or economic status). For AI systems classified as high risk (causing significant potential harm to health, safety, fundamental rights, the environment, democracy and the rule of law), clear obligations were agreed. Members successfully managed to include a mandatory fundamental rights impact assessment along with other requirements that also applied to the insurance and banking sectors.

“AI systems used to influence election outcomes and voter behavior are also classified as high-risk,” Parliament said. “Citizens will have the right to initiate complaints about AI systems and receive clarification about decisions based on high-risk AI systems that affect their rights.”