What does the future of artificial intelligence look like? Video / NZ Herald
The European Union took an important step Wednesday toward passing what would be one of the first major laws to regulate artificial intelligence, a potential model for policymakers around the world as they grapple with how to put guardrails on the rapidly developing technology.
The European Parliament, a main legislativebranch of the EU, passed a draft law known as the AI Act, which would put new restrictions on what are seen as the technology’s riskiest uses. It would severely curtail uses of facial recognition software, while requiring makers of AI systems like the ChatGPT chatbot to disclose more about the data used to create their programs.
The vote is one step in a longer process. A final version of the law is not expected to be passed until later this year.
The European Union is further along than the United States and other large Western governments in regulating AI. The issue took on new urgency after last year’s release of ChatGPT, which intensified concerns about the technology’s potential effects on employment and society.
Policymakers everywhere from Washington to Beijing are now racing to control an evolving technology that is alarming even some of its earliest creators.
How effective any regulation of AI can be is unclear. In a sign of the technology’s new capabilities emerging seemingly faster than lawmakers are able to address them, earlier versions of the EU law did not give much attention to so-called generative AI systems like ChatGPT, which can produce text, images and video in response to prompts.
The European Parliament, a main legislative branch of the EU, has passed a draft law known as the AI Act. Image / 123rf
In the latest version of Europe’s bill passed Wednesday, generative AI would face new transparency requirements. That includes publishing summaries of copyrighted material used for training the system, a proposal supported by the publishing industry but opposed by tech developers as technically infeasible. Makers of generative AI systems would also have to put safeguards in place to prevent them from generating illegal content.
The EU’s bill takes a “risk-based” approach to regulating AI, focusing on applications with the greatest potential for human harm. This would include where AI systems are used to operate critical infrastructure like water or energy, in the legal system, and when determining access to public services and government benefits. Makers of the technology will have to conduct risk assessments before putting the tech into everyday use, akin to the drug approval process.
A tech industry group, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said the European Union should avoid overly broad regulations that inhibit innovation.
“The E.U. is set to become a leader in regulating artificial intelligence, but whether it will lead on A.I. innovation still remains to be seen,” said Boniface de Champris, the group’s Europe policy manager. “Europe’s new A.I. rules need to effectively address clearly defined risks, while leaving enough flexibility for developers to deliver useful A.I. applications to the benefit of all Europeans.”
One major area of debate is the use of facial recognition. The European Parliament voted to ban uses of live facial recognition, but questions remain about whether exemptions should be allowed for national security and other law enforcement purposes.
Another provision would ban companies from scraping biometric data from social media to build out databases, a practice that drew scrutiny after the facial-recognition company Clearview AI used it.
Tech leaders have been trying influence the debate. Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has in recent months visited with at least 100 American lawmakers and other global policymakers in South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, including Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. Mr. Altman has called for regulation of A.I., but has also said the European Union’s proposal may be prohibitively difficult to comply with.
After the vote on Wednesday, a final version of the law will be negotiated by representatives of the three branches of the European Union — the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. Officials said they hoped to reach a final agreement by the end of the year.
