In a major regulatory development, the European Parliament has passed a draft law that would place restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the European Union (EU).
According to an article posted on the website of the New York Times, the Parliament has voted to adopt a revised version of a Proposal from the EU Commission that would help to ensure that AI technologies and systems are “safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory, and environmentally friendly.” The final version of the draft A.I. Act passed by Parliament will now be negotiated between the Parliament, the Commission, and the Council of the European Union, with a final agreement expected to be reached by year’s end.
The Parliament’s revision of the Commission’s Proposal includes bans on “intrusive and discriminatory uses of AI systems,” including certain biometric identification systems, the scraping of biometric data from social media to create facial recognition databases, and biometric categorization systems using sensitive characteristics, such as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or political orientation.
Policymakers in other countries have also initiated discussions on potential steps to control the use and control of AI technologies. But the actions by the EU represent the most significant advancement of potential AI regulatory controls to date.
Read the New York Times article about the passage of the EU’s A.I. Act.
Read the Commission’s initial Proposal for the harmonization of rules on the use of AI.
