The European Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the world's first extensive and far-reaching legislation on AI, has come into force. Its purpose is to ensure that AI developed and used in the European Union’s member states is trustworthy and thus the Act is hedged around with comprehensive safeguards to protect people’s fundamental rights. The law was three years in the making, having been first mooted by the European Commission (EC) in 2021 and agreed by the European parliament in December 2023. It delineates the legal obligations of developers and deployers in regard to the specific uses of AI.
The Act further prepares the ground for the establishment of a harmonised internal market for AI across all EU member states, encouraging the uptake of AI technology and the creation of “a supportive environment for innovation and investment.” It is also designed to reduce administrative and financial burdens for business in general, and for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular. In due course, we’ll see how that particular intent turns out in practice in those parts of the EU where bureaucracy is still the be all and end all of daily existence. Names could be named, but the people who live there know who they are.
