AI Act: EU to regulate artificial intelligence

Europe wants lead the way in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and is coming ever closer to its goal: the corresponding European Parliament committees have endorsed an amended version of the EU Commission's Artificial Intelligence Act, which includes a ban on face and emotion recognition systems. It will now be discussed in the European Parliament at the beginning of next week.

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Les Echos (FR) /

Not viable without humans

Real people will remain indispensable, stresses Alexandre Guérin, CEO of market research company Ipsos, in Les Echos:

“Whether in the fields of learning, research or idea development, it is essential to rely on evaluation by flesh-and-blood users. Optimised learning based on human experience applies to all aspects of conceptualisation, data selection, training, modelling and deployment of AI models. It is the prerequisite for the certainty that we can increase their usefulness and quality in a boundless but uncertain universe.”

Új Szó (SK) /

Military use of AI despite lack of knowledge?

Új Szó stresses the risks of military use of AI:

“During a US Army simulation exercise [in the meantime the army has clarified that this was a hypothetical thought exercise], a drone equipped with artificial intelligence killed its pilot in order to complete its mission at any cost. ... [Nevertheless], the US Air Force has started to install AI-based systems, including in F-16 fighter jets. ... Precisely because such systems are easy to fool or manipulate, we need to gain a better understanding of why the software makes certain decisions.”

El País (ES) /

Global coordination needed

El País applauds:

“Guaranteeing the transparency of its functioning, the quality of the data it processes and the identification of the sources are necessary prerequisites for the citizen to know what a system that can provide enormously useful services in numerous professions offers. However, the citizens' trust in its reliability must form the basis of this model. The ability to create texts and images that are credible and coherent but fake and the risk of malicious use present challenges to us all. The EU has led the way with this law. The next goal now must be to coordinate the AI control measures with other regions of the world and create mechanisms for their effective enforcement”

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Tages-Anzeiger (CH) /

Missed opportunities

Reactions in Europe to the new technology seem odd, notes the Tages-Anzeiger:

“Italy temporarily blocked ChatGPT. The European Union is planning a law on AI and has become the first parliament in the world to propose guidelines for ChatGPT. Regulation instead of innovation in the digital sphere - Europe is obeying its old reflexes. ... As we all know none of the search engines worth mentioning originates from Europe, let alone a successful social network or a groundbreaking text robot. In these areas, the US and China are in the lead. The Old Continent is once again in danger of being left behind when it comes to developing new technologies.”

NRC Handelsblad (NL) /

It's all up to society

The people must become involved, NRC urges:

“How do citizens actually want to use AI - and how not? These are questions that may have seemed futuristic until now, but which people at all levels of society had better start discussing - and fast. ... The communities of the EU must continue to develop safety rules for artificial intelligence, while at the same time not unnecessarily restricting innovative industry. But too much depends on these societal questions to leave it to the EU and the tech companies to find answers. Beyond smart legislation, what we need above all is good citizenship in this AI revolution. That is something computers cannot accomplish for now.”

Berlingske (DK) /

Protect children and youths

Berlingske casts a worried eye to the young in light of developments such as Snapchat's My AI chatbot:

“In the case of Snapchat's My AI we should react critically and cautiously, with a good dose of technology conservatism. ... We owe it to the younger generations to take a big step back from the exuberant tech enthusiasm that has prevailed in recent times. ... We need to remind the little ones every day that the best friends they carry through life are living, complex souls who don't give a respond with a standard: 'Hi, how can I help you' answer.”