There are different risk categories depending on the type of application, with a specific category dedicated to general-purpose generative AI:
Article 5.2 bans algorithmic video surveillance of people ("The use of ‘real-time’ remote biometric identification systems in publicly accessible spaces") only if it is conducted in real time. Exceptions allowing real-time algorithmic video surveillance include policing aims including "a real and present or real and foreseeable threat of terrorist attack".
Recital 31 of the act states that it aims to prohibit "AI systems providing social scoring of natural persons by public or private actors," but allows for "lawful evaluation practices of natural persons that are carried out for a specific purpose in accordance with Union and national law." La Quadrature du Net interprets this exemption as permitting sector-specific social scoring systems, such as the suspicion score used by the French family payments agency Caisse d'allocations familiales.
The AI Act establishes various new bodies in Article 64 and the following articles. These bodies are tasked with implementing and enforcing the Act. The approach combines EU-level coordination with national implementation, involving both public authorities and private sector participation.
While the establishment of new bodies is planned at the EU level, Member States will have to designate "national competent authorities." These authorities will be responsible for ensuring the application and implementation of the AI Act, and for conducting "market surveillance." They will verify that AI systems comply with the regulations, notably by checking the proper performance of conformity assessments and by appointing third-parties to carry out external conformity assessments.
The Act mandates that member states establish their own notifying bodies. Conformity assessments are conducted to verify whether AI systems comply with the standards set out in the AI Act. This assessment can be done in two ways: either through self-assessment, where the AI system provider checks conformity, or through third-party conformity assessment, where the notifying body conducts the assessment. Notifying bodies also have the authority to carry out audits to ensure proper conformity assessments.
Criticism has arisen regarding the fact that many high-risk AI systems do not require third-party conformity assessments. Some commentators argue that independent third-party assessments are necessary for high-risk AI systems to ensure safety before deployment. Legal scholars have suggested that AI systems capable of generating deepfakes for political misinformation or creating non-consensual intimate imagery should be classified as high-risk and subjected to stricter regulation.
The law was passed in the European Parliament on 13 March 2024, by a vote of 523 for, 46 against, and 49 abstaining. It was approved by the EU Council on 21 May 2024. It entered into force on 1 August 2024, 20 days after being published in the Official Journal on 12 July 2024. After coming into force, there will be a delay before it becomes applicable, which depends on the type of application. This delay is 6 months for bans on "unacceptable risk" AI systems, 9 months for codes of practice, 12 months for general-purpose AI systems, 36 months for some obligations related to "high-risk" AI systems, and 24 months for everything else.
Experts have argued that though the jurisdiction of the law is European, it could have far-ranging implications for international companies that plan to expand to Europe. Anu Bradford at Columbia has argued that the law provides significant momentum to the world-wide movement to regulate AI technologies.
Some tech watchdogs have argued that there were major loopholes in the law that would allow large tech monopolies to entrench their advantage in AI, or to lobby to weaken rules. Some startups welcomed the clarification the act provides, while others argued the additional regulation would make European startups uncompetitive compared to American and Chinese startups. La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) described the AI Act as "tailor-made for the tech industry, European police forces as well as other large bureaucracies eager to automate social control." LQDN described the role of self-regulation and exemptions in the act to render it "largely incapable of standing in the way of the social, political and environmental damage linked to the proliferation of AI."
Building on these critiques, scholars have raised concerns in particular about the Act's approach to regulating the secondary uses of trained AI models, which may have significant societal impacts. They argue that the Act’s narrow focus on deployment contexts and reliance on providers to self-declare intended purposes creates opportunities for misinterpretation and insufficient oversight. Additionally, the Act often exempts open-source models and neglects critical lifecycle phases, such as the reuse of trained models. Trained models store decision-mappings as parameters that approximate patterns from the training data. This "model data" is distinct from the original training data and is typically classified as non-personal, as it often cannot be traced back to individual data subjects. Consequently, it falls outside the scope of other regulations like the GDPR. Some scholars also criticize the AI Act for not sufficiently regulating the reuse of model data, warning of potentially harmful consequences for individual privacy, social equity, and democratic processes.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 167/2013, (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1139 and (EU) 2019/2144 and Directives 2014/90/EU, (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Artificial Intelligence Act) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024R1689
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Artificial Intelligence Act:[1] Recital 31
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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council LAYING DOWN HARMONISED RULES ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ACT) AND AMENDING CERTAIN UNION LEGISLATIVE ACTS https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021SC0084
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