European Union Artificial Intelligence Act explained

Reference is AI Act April 2021 for the following summary:

Introduction

• The EU AI Act is a proposed regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on artificial intelligence (AI).
• It is the first piece of legislation in the world to regulate AI in a comprehensive manner.
• The Act aims to ensure that AI is developed and used in a safe and ethical way, and that it respects fundamental rights and freedoms.

The definition of AI

• The Act defines AI as "software that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, generate outputs such as content, predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing the environments they interact with."
• This definition is broad enough to capture a wide range of AI systems, from simple chatbots to complex self-driving cars.

The risk classification

• The Act classifies AI systems into three risk categories: unacceptable risk, high risk, and low risk.
• Systems in the unacceptable risk category are banned.
• Systems in the high risk category are subject to specific legal requirements, such as human oversight, transparency, and robustness.
• Systems in the low risk category are largely left unregulated.

The unacceptable risk category

• The unacceptable risk category includes AI systems that are likely to cause serious harm to people or the environment.
• This includes systems that are used for social scoring, remote biometric identification, and life-critical applications.

The high risk category

• The high risk category includes AI systems that are likely to cause harm to people or the environment, but not to the same extent as systems in the unacceptable risk category.
• This includes systems that are used for hiring, credit scoring, and criminal justice.

The low risk category

• The low risk category includes AI systems that are not likely to cause harm to people or the environment.
• This includes systems that are used for recommendation engines, spam filters, and traffic management.

The general principles

• The Act sets out a number of general principles that all AI systems must comply with, regardless of their risk category.
• These principles include:
• Human agency: AI systems must not be used in a way that undermines human agency or decision-making.
• Fairness: AI systems must not be used in a way that is discriminatory or biased.
• Privacy: AI systems must not be used in a way that violates people's privacy.
• Accountability: The developers and users of AI systems must be accountable for the way that they are used.

The specific requirements

• In addition to the general principles, the Act sets out specific requirements for high-risk AI systems.
• These requirements include:
• Human oversight: High-risk AI systems must have human oversight to ensure that they are not used in a way that is harmful or discriminatory.
• Transparency: High-risk AI systems must be transparent so that users can understand how they work and how their data is being used.
• Robustness: High-risk AI systems must be robust so that they are not easily hacked or manipulated.
• Privacy: High-risk AI systems must comply with data protection laws.
• Non-discrimination: High-risk AI systems must not be used in a way that is discriminatory.

The European Artificial Intelligence Board

• The Act establishes a new European Artificial Intelligence Board to oversee the implementation of the Act.
• The Board will be responsible for providing guidance on the Act, issuing opinions, and resolving disputes.

The future of the AI Act

• The AI Act is still in the proposal stage, but it is expected to be finalized in 2023.
• Once it is finalized, it will be the first comprehensive law on AI in the world.
• The Act is likely to have a significant impact on the development and use of AI in the EU.
• It will help to ensure that AI is developed and used in a safe and ethical way, and that it respects fundamental rights and freedoms.

Conclusion

• The EU AI Act is a landmark piece of legislation that has the potential to shape the future of AI in the EU and around the world.
• It is still in the proposal stage, but it is already generating a lot of interest and debate.
• It will be interesting to see how it evolves in the coming months and years.

Additional details:

• The Act defines "human oversight" as "the involvement of a human in the development, deployment, and use of an AI system, to ensure that the system is aligned with the objectives set by humans and that it does not cause harm."
• The Act defines "transparency" as "the ability of users to