Businesses developing and procuring AI tools have been urged to study the recently introduced EU AI Act, so they can understand how it will apply to them.
Nils Rauer, an expert in AI regulation at law firm Pinsent Masons, described the EU AI Act as a “highly impactful piece of legislation” that organisations need to respond to now, ahead of it taking effect in the months ahead.
They should especially focus on their risk management obligations, he said, adding that the legislation will impact not just on EU firms. He said: “The AI Act has clear extra-territorial effect, meaning companies in the US, UK or Asia, among others globally, need to consider the new law.”
Proposals for an EU AI Act, dubbed the world’s first AI law, were published by the European Commission in 2021 and subsequently were subject to intense scrutiny by EU law makers within the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. The AI Act cleared the legislative process in May, ahead of the European Parliament elections, and has now been published in the Official Journal of the EU. It will enter into force on 1 August 2024, though most of the provisions will not take immediate effect.
Rauer said: “The AI Act has undergone substantial changes since it was first proposed by the European Commission, both in terms of language and conceptually. The legislator has married together two conceptual approaches – a risk-based approach relating to AI systems applied in certain areas, and a separate regulatory regime for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models. The latter need to comply with stricter obligations if they involve a systemic risk – something which is not determined in relation to the area of application, but rather on the basis of how powerful the model is.”
