The Parliament of the European Union (EU) was a pioneer in approving, by an overwhelming majority of votes, the basic text of a law that regulates the use of Artificial intelligenceon the mainland. The measure aims to ensure the ethical use of this technology, since it is increasingly present in the routine of European citizens.
The vote, which included representatives from the 27 countries of the bloc, took place on Wednesday, June 14, and had 499 votes in favor, 28 against and 93 abstentions. The norm imposes rules and restrictions for the use of this technology throughout the European Union.
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What does the base text predict?
One of the main measures adopted by the text is the prohibition of the use of real-time biometric recognition technologies in public places. However, all AI-based tools must follow standards, which will be imposed according to the level of risk offered to humans.
The greater the threat, the greater the sanctions and liabilities. For this, the parliament established that the risk classification is made based on the effective possibility of the AI harm health, safety, fundamental human rights or the environment.
The objective is to ensure that all AI-based programs respect the laws and values of the European Union, in order to avoid any kind of damage to society.
In addition, the basic text provides for the fight against digital discrimination, the spread of false news and the use of deepfakes, fake images of real people, created by AI.
Furthermore, the norm also prohibits systems that use so-called “social scores” to classify people based on their characteristics. Likewise, the use of AI for predictive policing and software that recognize emotions in people is prohibited.
In the case of generative AIs, such as the popular ChatGPT, the use will be allowed, but with the requirement that the content generated by the platform be flagged as such.
Path to be followed until approval
Despite the large lead in the vote, this is just the first step. For the text to become effective, it is still necessary to negotiate with the European Commission and all Member States. If it is approved, the EU will be the first block in the world to have a specific law to control the use of Artificial Intelligence.
