Artificial Intelligence Act
2024 European Union regulation on artificial intelligence / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act)[lower-alpha 1] is a European Union regulation concerning artificial intelligence (AI).
European Union regulation | |
Title | Artificial Intelligence Act[lower-alpha 1] |
---|---|
Made by | European Parliament and Council |
History | |
European Parliament vote | 13 March 2024 |
Council Vote | 21 May 2024 |
Preparative texts | |
Commission proposal | 2021/206 |
Current legislation |
It establishes a common regulatory and legal framework for AI within the European Union (EU).[1] Proposed by the European Commission on 21 April 2021,[2] it passed the European Parliament on 13 March 2024,[3] and was unanimously approved by the EU Council on 21 May 2024.[4] The Act also creates a European Artificial Intelligence Board to promote national cooperation and ensure compliance with the regulation.[5] Like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, the Act can apply extraterritorially to providers from outside the EU if they have users within the EU.[6]
It covers all types of AI across a broad range of sectors, with exceptions for AI systems used solely for military, national security, research and non-professional purposes.[7] As a piece of product regulation, it does not confer rights on individuals, but regulates the providers of AI systems and entities using AI in a professional context.[6] The draft Act was revised to address the rise in popularity of generative artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT, whose general-purpose capabilities did not fit the main framework.[8] More restrictive regulations are planned for powerful generative AI systems with systemic impact.[9]
The Act classifies non-exempted AI applications by their risk of causing harm. There are four levels—unacceptable, high, limited, minimal—plus an additional category for general-purpose AI. Applications with unacceptable risks are banned. High-risk applications must comply with security, transparency and quality obligations, and undergo conformity assessments. Limited-risk applications only have transparency obligations, while minimal-risk applications are not regulated. For general-purpose AI, transparency requirements are imposed, with additional evaluations for high-capability models.[9][10]