The European Parliament has passed its long-awaited AI law, which it hopes will provide the legal infrastructure to regulate artificial intelligence.
While AI has contributed immensely to productivity gains and resulted in major innovations in crucial sectors such as science and healthcare, many fear that the speed of its development could outpace the ability to regulate it.
The new law therefore provides a legal framework for categorizing and examining AI, and acts as a springboard for future regulations.
One small step for regulation, one giant leap for AI
A number of governments around the world have introduced individual legislation and regulations to address specific issues relating to AI, but this latest legislation from the European Parliament works by setting a risk level for each product, with those with the highest risk is the most scrutinized.
The high-risk products would be those used in critical sectors such as healthcare, defense and law enforcement, and would be subject to the highest level of controls and regulation. The AI law still needs to be adopted by the European Council, but is expected to happen with little friction.
Christina Montgomery, Vice President and Chief Privacy and Trust Officer of IBM, said of today’s ruling: “I commend the EU for its leadership in passing comprehensive, smart AI legislation. The risk-based approach aligns with IBM’s commitment to ethical AI practices and will help build open and trustworthy AI ecosystems.
“IBM stands ready to provide our technology and expertise – including our watsonx.governance product – to help our customers and other stakeholders comply with the EU AI Act and upcoming legislation worldwide, so that we can all realize the incredible potential of responsible AI unlock.”
A number of companies, including IBM, have pushed for more regulation for the rapid advancement of AI capabilities due to the threat of its potential misuse in elections, trustworthy information and cybersecurity.
Last year, President Biden issued an executive order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI, which combined AI developers’ general voluntary agreements into one comprehensive obligation.