EU Parliament: Artificial Intelligence, debate and vote in plenary. “Curb the risks and promote ethical use of AI”

Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes its way to Strasbourg. The plenary session of the European Parliament, scheduled for 12-15 June in the Alsatian city, will address the topic next Tuesday in a debate. The next day, MEPs will vote on the first set of comprehensive rules to manage AI risk and “promote uses of AI that align with EU values”, a statement reads. Key points to be discussed include “human oversight, privacy, and non-discrimination”. The new rules follow “a risk-based approach and establish obligations for providers and users depending on the level of risk the AI can generate. They would prohibit AI systems with unacceptable levels of risk”. MEPs “are expected to back bans of remote biometric identification systems, categorisation based on sensitive characteristics, predictive policing and emotion recognition systems”. In addition, they should propose tailor-made rules for generative AI, like ChatGPT, including labelling AI-generated content and making publicly-available summaries of copyrighted data used for algorithm training. Also, “to boost AI innovation, MEPs propose exemptions for research activities and open-source AI components as well as the use of so-called ‘regulatory sandboxes’, or controlled environments, created by public authorities to test AI before its deployment”. Once Parliament has adopted its position, talks with the Council can begin to find an agreement on the final shape of the law.Valentina Bombelli