Europe unveils new policies to restrict use of Artificial Intelligence

By Hope Hill |

In what may be termed as a move to position itself as the most aggressive regulator of the technology industry, the European Union recently unveiled its plans to impose strict policies on the use of Artificial Intelligence. Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President at EU cited that with the new standards, the EU will ensure the use of AI, one of the world’s most transformative technologies, in an ethical manner. She further added that the revolutionary move by the EU will pave a way for development of new global norms to make sure that AI can be trusted.

The new regulations would set limits on the use of AI by governments and companies on high-risk categories of AI applications. This would encompass areas that pose a serious threat and safety risk to EU fundamental rights. The EU will also have the authority to exercise strict regulations and expand high-risk use cases of AI by delegate acts as the risks evolve.

The draft categorizes high risk examples into the following: Management and operation of critical infrastructure; Biometric identification; Educational and vocational training; Employment, workers management and access to self-employment; Law enforcement, Administration of justice and democratic processes; Migration, asylum and border control management; Access to essential private and public services benefits.

As per sources familiar with the matter, the new guidelines will reportedly ban the use of AI in areas such as facial recognition in public spaces, with exemptions for national security and other sensitive purposes.

The latest move by the EU is said to have an extensive impact on technology majors such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon which have splurged heavy investments in developing the technology. Insurance, healthcare, finance and public services sectors where AI has gained wide prominence in the recent years are also likely to be impacted by the new standards.

As per reliable sources, companies that violate the new draft of regulations with regard to specific AI use-case bans could face penalties of €30M or up to 6 per cent of their global annual turnover (whichever is greater). A fine of or €20M or up to 4 per cent of the global sales (whichever is greater) will be imposed for violation of rules related to high-risk applications.



Source Credits:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/business/artificial-intelligence-regulation.html

https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/21/europe-lays-out-plan-for-risk-based-ai-rules-to-boost-trust-and-uptake

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