The European Parliament approved the Artificial Intelligence Law that guarantees security and compliance with fundamental rightswhile promoting innovation, a regulation, agreed in negotiations with Member States in December 2023, which was supported by MEPs with 523 votes in favor, 46 against and 49 abstentions.
According to international agencies, the first law of its kind is set to reshape the way companies and organizations in Europe use AI for everything from healthcare decisions to policing.
In his presentation, Parliament detailed that its objective is to protect fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability against high-risk AI.or, while driving innovation and establishing Europe as a leader in this field. The regulation establishes obligations for AI based on its potential risks and level of impact.
In search of establishing barriers for other applications considered “high risk”, This law prohibits, among other things, AI-powered social scoring systems and any biometric tools used to establish a person’s race, political leanings, or sexual orientation.
Bans the use of AI to interpret people’s emotions in schools and workplaces, as well as some types of automated profiles intended to predict the likelihood of a person committing crimes in the future.
Despite this, some exemptions from the application of the law were also presented, as an example, although the use of biometric identification systems (RBI) by law enforcement is prohibited in principle, it can only be implemented if strict safeguards are met. For example, its use is limited in time and geographical scope and is subject to specific prior judicial or administrative authorization.
Such uses may include, for example, the targeted search for a missing person or the prevention of a terrorist attack. The use of such post-facto systems is considered a high-risk use case, requiring judicial authorization linked to a criminal offense.
In addition, clear obligations are also provided for other high-risk AI systems, including critical infrastructure, education and vocational training, employment, essential public and private services, such as healthcare, banking, certain law enforcement systems, migration and border management, justice and democratic processes.
Such systems must assess and reduce risks, maintain usage records, be transparent and accurate, and ensure human oversight. Citizens will have the right to file complaints about AI systems and receive explanations about decisions based on high-risk AI systems that affect their rights.
For now, The regulation is still subject to a final review by legal-linguistic experts and is expected to be definitively adopted before the end of the legislature, in June of this year. In addition, the law also needs to be formally endorsed by the Council.
It will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the Official Gazette, and will be fully applicable 24 months after its entry into force, except: prohibitions on practices, which will apply six months after the date of entry into force.
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