AI Act gets final approval from EU Council

On 21 May 2024, the European Council formally approved the AI ActThe EU Artificial Intelligence Act was approved by the EU Council on 21 March 2024. A world-first comprehensive AI law, intended to harmonise rules for the development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence systems across the EU. – the world’s first comprehensive legal framework that aims to harmonise rules on the development and use of artificial intelligenceThe use of computer systems to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as decision-making, speech recognition, translation etc. systems.   

Taking a risk-based approach, the AI Act categorises systems according to their threat to human health, safety, and rights. The greater the risk, the more stringent the regulations, with some activities prohibited entirely. 

Systems deemed ‘high-risk’ will have to undertake regular audits and pass a Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment (FRIA), as well as registering on a central database of high-risk AI systems. 

What happens next?

Now the AI Act has been given formal approval by the EU Council, it will be published over the next couple of days in the EU’s official journal and enter into force twenty days later. 

Organisations and businesses have two years from the date of the AI Act’s publication in the EU’s official journal to fully comply with its provisions. 

Practical application of the new law will have implications for many businesses operating across the EU. Companies outside the EU, who use EU customer data in their AI systems and data sets will also need to comply. 

David Smith, DPO and AI Sector Lead says, ‘As a business, you will need to understand your exposure to the incoming rules. As a first step, you must understand whether you are a provider, manufacturer, or deployer. Secondly, you need to ascertain whether your AI systems are high-risk, or powerful enough to count as a general-purpose AI model. These are all significant factors for the compliance documentation required and how long you have to complete compliance activities.’ 

We will be exploring the details of the AI Act in a forthcoming blog and infographic. 

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