EU passes first major AI regulation - ITREALMS

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The European Union (EU) has passed its first major regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI), reports ITREALMS.

According to CNBC, this is the world’s first comprehensive set of rules for AI. This week, it was approved in the EU parliament with a robust majority, underscoring Europe’s ambition to become a global leader in setting ethical and operational standards for AI technologies.

The vote came today as the European Parliament cast a decisive vote, with 523 members in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions, to enact the regulatory framework. This move follows a provisional political consensus reached in early December, marking a significant milestone in the EU’s legislative process.

Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, took to X (formerly Twitter) to proclaim, “Europe is NOW a global standard-setter in AI.“. Initiated in 2021, The EU Act categorizes AI technologies based on their risk levels, ranging from unacceptable to high, medium, and low.

This classification aims to ensure that the deployment of AI technologies aligns with societal values and ethical standards, prohibiting technologies deemed to pose unacceptable risks.

The President, European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, celebrated the act as “trailblazing,” pointing out that its role in harmonizing innovation with the safeguarding of fundamental rights. In a post on social media, she said, “Artificial intelligence is already very much part of our daily lives. Now, it will be part of our legislation too,”.