EU draws up a list of bans on artificial intelligence

The European Parliament has taken an important step towards regulating artificial intelligence by identifying the potentially harmful effects of the technology.

The New York Times reports.

The European Parliament, the European Union’s main legislative body, has passed a bill, known as the AI Act, that will regulate the development of artificial intelligence and define a list of prohibitions on the use of the technology.

The Act is expected to be adopted by the end of the year.

“A draft law in the European Parliament has become the world’s most far-reaching attempt to address the potentially harmful effects of artificial intelligence. The AI Act will put new restrictions on what are seen as the technology’s riskiest uses,” the publication writes.

For example, if the law comes into force in its current form, the European Union will ban the use of biometric systems that operate in real time and remotely, such as facial recognition scans.

Devices manipulating cognitive behaviour, such as voice-controlled toys, which are thought to encourage dangerous behaviour in children, would also be banned.

Technologies that classify people based on their socioeconomic status or personal characteristics would also be banned.

Under this draft law, technologies deemed ‘high risk’ must be registered in the EU database. This includes artificial intelligence systems for biometric identification and those used by law enforcement agencies.

Another provision of the draft law bans companies from collecting biometric data from social media to create databases. This practice gained attention after facial recognition company Clearview AI used it.

Under the latest version of the European draft law, the technology would face new transparency requirements. This includes the use of copyrighted material by artificial intelligence.

Manufacturers of generative AI systems would also have to implement safeguards to prevent generating illegal content.

However, it is unclear how effective the regulation of AI can be. The technology’s new capabilities are emerging faster than lawmakers can address them.

For example, previous versions of EU legislation have not paid much attention to so-called generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT, which can create text, images and videos in response to prompts.

The EU has been discussing this issue for more than two years. The issue has taken on new urgency following the publication of the ChatGPT last year, which raised concerns about the potential impact of technology on employment and society.

Representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union have yet to agree on the details of the law’s final version. They may change some aspects of the law and add certain exemptions, such as allowing facial recognition for national security purposes.

“Policymakers everywhere from Washington to Beijing are now racing to control an evolving technology that is alarming even some of its earliest creators,” the New York Times reports.

In the United States, for example, the White House has released rules to test artificial intelligence systems before they are made public and to protect privacy rights.

In China, draft regulations published in April would require chatbot makers to comply with the country’s strict censorship rules. Beijing will also have more control over how makers of AI systems use data.

To recap:

The UN is discussing the creation of an AI watchdog similar to the IAEA. AI has become a subject of concern due to its ability to create fake images and disinformation.

epravda.com.ua