EU Parliament Endorses Groundbreaking Regulation on Artificial Intelligence Act in December 2023

The European Parliament has endorsed a groundbreaking regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) that aims to protect fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law, and environmental sustainability while boosting innovation and establishing Europe as a leader in the field. The regulation, agreed upon in negotiations with member states in December 2023, received overwhelming support from MEPs with 523 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions.

The new rules ban certain AI applications that threaten citizens’ rights, including biometric categorization systems based on sensitive characteristics, untargeted scraping of facial images for facial recognition databases, emotion recognition in workplaces and schools, social scoring, predictive policing based solely on profiling, and AI that manipulates human behavior or exploits vulnerabilities.

Law enforcement’s use of biometric identification systems is prohibited in principle, except in narrowly defined situations with strict safeguards. High-risk AI systems, such as those in critical infrastructure, education, employment, healthcare, law enforcement, and democratic processes, must assess and reduce risks, maintain use logs, be transparent and accurate, and ensure human oversight.

General-purpose AI systems must meet transparency requirements, including compliance with EU copyright law and publishing detailed summaries of training data. Regulatory sandboxes and real-world testing will be established to support innovation and SMEs in developing and training AI before market placement.

Quotes from the Internal Market Committee co-rapporteur Brando Benifei and Civil Liberties Committee co-rapporteur Dragos Tudorache highlight the significance of the regulation in reducing risks, protecting rights, and ensuring transparency in AI development.

The regulation is expected to be finally adopted before the end of the legislature, pending a final lawyer-linguist check and formal endorsement by the Council. It will enter into force gradually over 24 months, with specific provisions taking effect at different intervals.

The Artificial Intelligence Act responds to citizens’ proposals from the Conference on the Future of Europe, focusing on enhancing competitiveness, ensuring a safe and trustworthy society, promoting digital innovation with human oversight, and improving access to information for all citizens, including those with disabilities.