EU Reaches Provisional Deal on Rules Regarding AI Use

Europe has reached a provisional deal on landmark European Union (EU) rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI), making it the first major world power to enact laws in this area.

The deal, reached on Friday (Dec. 8) after nearly 15 hours of continuous negotiations, covers various aspects of AI use, including governments’ use of AI in biometric surveillance and the regulation of AI systems like ChatGPT, Reuters reported Monday (Dec. 11).

The agreement requires foundation models such as ChatGPT and general-purpose AI systems (GPAI) to comply with transparency obligations before they are put on the market, according to the report. This includes providing technical documentation, complying with EU copyright law, and releasing detailed summaries about the content used for training.

High-impact foundation models with systemic risk will have additional requirements, such as conducting model evaluations, assessing and mitigating systemic risks, and ensuring cybersecurity, the report said.

The deal also sets limits on the use of real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces by governments, per the report. Such surveillance can only be used in cases of victims of certain crimes, prevention of genuine threats like terrorist attacks, and searches for people suspected of serious crimes.

It was reported on Friday that face-scanning technology had become the focus of the negotiations, with teams divided on the use of this technology by EU governments.

The agreement explicitly bans cognitive behavioral manipulation, the untargeted scraping of facial images, social scoring and biometric categorization systems that infer sensitive personal information, according to the Monday Reuters report.

Consumers will have the right to launch complaints and receive meaningful explanations, the report said.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton hailed the agreement as a historic day for Europe, positioning the region as a pioneer and global standard-setter in AI regulation, per the report.

However, not everyone is pleased with the deal, according to the report. Business group DigitalEurope criticized the regulations as burdensome for companies, adding to the regulatory burden they already face.

Privacy rights group European Digital Rights expressed concerns about the legalization of live public facial recognition across the EU, the report said.

The legislation is expected to go into effect early next year, following formal ratification, and will apply two years after that, per the report.