A milestone in the history of artificial intelligence with the approval by the European Parliament of the AI Act, the world’s first major set of regulatory ground rules to govern the artificial intelligence.

1. What is the AI Act?

The AI Act, proposed by the European Commission (COM 2021/0206) and approved by the Council of EU Ministers on February 2024, is a legislative framework aiming to regulate the ethical use of artificial intelligence within the European Union (the “EU”), addressing challenges and promoting responsible innovation.

The final adoption by the European Council of the AI Act should occur mid-April 2024.

2. What is the AI Act main purpose?

Its purpose is to establish guidelines that promote responsible AI development and deployment within the EU.

In summary, the EU’s proposed AI regulation aims to:

• Ethical and Trustworthy AI: It establishes a framework for the ethical and trustworthy development and use of AI systems in the EU and also focuses on respecting fundamental rights and incorporating human oversight.
• Transparency, Reliability, and Safety: The AI Act ensures that AI systems used in the EU are transparent, reliable, and safe but also emphasizes the importance of respecting fundamental rights and values in AI development and application.
• European Artificial Intelligence Board: It establishes the European Artificial Intelligence Board to oversee implementation and enforcement of the regulation across the EU.

3. Who is affected by the AI Act?

In summary, the EU’s AI regulation impacts various stakeholders:

• AI Developers, Providers and Operators of AI Systems: They must adhere to the regulation’s requirements and obligations. The compliance is essential for companies developing or providing AI systems in the EU.
• Regulators and Supervisory Authorities: The national authorities enforce the regulation in their respective countries. The European Artificial Intelligence Board offers guidance and support to ensure compliance.
• Users and Citizens: The regulation focuses on safeguarding the rights and interests of individuals. It also aims to ensure transparency in AI systems, inform users about AI use in interactions and prioritize the users’ protection and regulatory oversight.

4. What are the AI Act’s main features?

• Introduction of a new definition of AI Systems : “A machine-based system designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy and that may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment and that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments”;
• Introduction of a risk based approach differentiating between uses of AI that create (i) an unacceptable risk, (ii) a high risk, and (iii) limited or minimal risk. The risk based approach will be explained in the Episode 2 of B&R’s AI series;
• Implementation of new obligations across the value chain for providers and deployers and a closed list of prohibited AI Systems;
• Limitation for the of use biometric identification systems by law enforcement;
• Introduction of users’ rights to launch complaints and receive meaningful explanations, and
• Implementation of fines ranging from EUR 35 million or 7% of global turnover to EUR 7.5 million or 1.5% of turnover.

The CSSF white paper dated 2018 will still be valid and is already based on a risk approach.

5. How can B&R help me?

Our cross-practice teams of specialists provide the extensive and all-encompassing legal knowledge required to navigate the multidisciplinary intersection of AI and the AI act, such as data protection, regulatory, compliance, corporate, contracts etc.

Read more about the AI Act here.