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In a groundbreaking development, Europe has achieved a provisional agreement on European Union regulations that will govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI), encompassing governmental applications of AI in biometric surveillance and regulations for AI systems such as ChatGPT.
This political accord positions the EU as a pioneering force, poised to become the first major global power to enact comprehensive laws overseeing AI. The deal, forged after nearly 15 hours of negotiations following an extensive 24-hour debate, awaits further refinement in the coming days, potentially altering the final legislative landscape.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton hailed the agreement as a historic day, emphasizing Europe’s role as a global standard setter. The accord mandates that foundational models, including ChatGPT, and general-purpose AI systems (GPAI) comply with transparency requirements before entering the market. This involves creating technical documentation, adhering to EU copyright laws, and providing detailed summaries of the content used for training.
High-impact foundation models carrying systemic risk must undergo model evaluations, assess and mitigate systemic risks, conduct adversarial testing, report serious incidents to the European Commission, ensure cybersecurity, and disclose energy efficiency details. GPAIs with systemic risk may adopt codes of practice to align with the new regulations.
Governments are restricted to employing real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces only for specific cases, such as victims of certain crimes, the prevention of legitimate, present, or foreseeable threats (e.g., terrorist attacks), and searches for individuals suspected of the most serious crimes.
The agreement explicitly prohibits cognitive behavioral manipulation, untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage, social scoring, and biometric categorization systems aimed at inferring political, religious, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, and race.
Consumers are granted the right to file complaints and receive meaningful explanations. Violation fines range from €7.5 million ($8.1 million) or 1.5% of turnover to €35 million or 7% of global turnover.
However, business group DigitalEurope criticized the regulations as an additional burden for companies. Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director General, expressed concerns about the last-minute attempt to regulate foundation models, asserting a departure from a risk-based approach.
Privacy rights group European Digital Rights echoed criticism, particularly regarding the legalization of live public facial recognition across the EU. Ella Jakubowska, Senior Policy Advisor, described the overall package on biometric surveillance and profiling as lukewarm.
The legislation is expected to come into force early next year after formal ratification by both parties, with implementation slated for two years thereafter. As governments worldwide seek to strike a balance between the advantages and potential risks of AI, Europe’s ambitious regulations could serve as a blueprint for other nations, offering an alternative to the United States’ light-touch approach and China’s interim rules.
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