EU Council Nears Common Position On AI Act

The Czech Presidency of the EU Council circulated a new compromise on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act on Wednesday (19 October), set to be the basis for an agreement next month.

The AI Act is landmark legislation which seeks to regulate the sector based on its potential risks. The Czech Presidency prioritised the file, aiming for a general approach at a ministerial meeting on 6 December.

The new compromise, the fourth in total, will be discussed at the EU Council’s Telecom Working Party next Tuesday (25 October). If no significant issue arises, the EU ambassadors might green-light the text by mid-November.

The AI Act is landmark legislation which seeks to regulate the sector based on its potential risks. The Czech Presidency prioritised the file, aiming for a general approach at a ministerial meeting on 6 December.

The new compromise, the fourth in total, will be discussed at the EU Council’s Telecom Working Party next Tuesday (25 October). If no significant issue arises, the EU ambassadors might green-light the text by mid-November.

In terms of scope, the new text clarifies that exemption for EU military, defense and national security also applies to any use of AI systems, not only to the placement on the market.

Another exemption has been added for people using AI for non-professional purposes, which would fall outside the scope of the AI regulation except for the transparency obligations.

Regarding the controversial issue of biometric identification systems, software able to recognise people by their faces or other traits, the notion of remote was reintroduced. Last year, the Slovenian Presidency removed this adjective as it was deemed confusing.

However, since then, EU member states grew wary that fingerprints would also fall under the scope. Therefore, the definition of remote now includes two conditions: that the system is used from a distance, and the identification occurs without the person’s active involvement.