(Finance) – “Coreper ambassadors have confirmed the final compromise text found on the proposal relating to harmonized rules on artificial intelligence. The AI Act represents a milestone, as it marks the first rules for artificial intelligence in the world, with the aim of making it safe and respectful of the fundamental rights of the EU”. With these words the rotating Belgian presidency of the EU Councilannounced on EU on Artificial Intelligence.
For the final approval of the agreement – reached by the negotiators of the EU Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on 8 December – some formal steps are now missing: the proposal will have to return to the competent commission of the European Parliament on 13 February (the Inta commission, Internal Market and Consumer Protection), to then be voted on by the plenary, probably in April. This will lead to the final step, with formal adoption by the EU Council.
There proposed regulation aims to ensure that AI systems placed on the European market and used in the EU are safe and respect fundamental rights and EU values. The legislation, the first on the subject in the world, provides for a series of obligations to suppliers and developers of AI systems depending on the different levels of risk identified. The text also lists a list of prohibited practices which includes the untargeted collection of facial images from the Internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases; and biometric categorization systems that use sensitive characteristics, such as political beliefs, religious beliefs, and race. The regulation also provides a series of safeguards and narrow exceptions for the use of biometric identification systems (RBI) in spaces accessible to the public for law enforcement purposes, subject to judicial authorization and for strictly defined crime lists. “Post-remote” RBI would be used exclusively for the targeted search of a person convicted or suspected of having committed a serious crime.
The text finally includes measures to support innovation and SMEs it’s a sanctions regime, with fines ranging from 35 million euros or 7% of global turnover to 7.5 million or 1.5% of turnover, depending on the violation and the size of the company.
“The unanimous approval of the AI Act marks a historic moment for the European Union with the decisive contribution of Italy and the Meloni government. Ever since the European Union began discussing the AI Act, Italy understood the fundamental importance of a clear and robust regulatory framework for artificial intelligence – commented the Undersecretary for Innovation, Alessio Butti –. Our goal was to ensure that all AI applications, including cutting-edge generative models, operated within a system of rules that was both simple and rigorous, capable of protecting citizens’ rights and promoting innovation responsible”.
The unanimous approval of the AI Act by the Council, in view of final vote of the European Parliament on 24 April, underlined Butti, “it represents a significant victory for Italy and for the European Union. This regulation – added the undersecretary – not only establishes high standards for the development and use of artificial intelligence but also positions the EU as a global leader in the regulation of this fundamental technology. Italy has played a crucial role in this process, demonstrating its leadership and commitment towards a safe, ethical and innovative digital future. We now look to the future, ready to collaborate with other Member States and European institutions to effectively implement the AI Act. Italy will continue to be at the forefront of this important debate, promoting AI that is at the service of man and respectful of the fundamental values on which the our Union”.