EU moves ahead with draft law to regulate AI

The European Parliament on Wednesday passed the first draft of the AI Act, a proposed law that focuses on the safe development and application of artificially intelligent systems, to ensure AI tools respect international human rights laws.

The act, which has served as an example for other nations to develop their own AI regulations, restricts the use of technologies like facial recognition software and requires transparency from AI developers to share more data used to create their systems, like, for example, ChatGPT or Bing chat.

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The final version of the law is expected to be passed later this year after negotiations between the Parliament, European Commission, and Council of the EU are concluded.

For now, the draft includes provisions for generative AI systems like ChatGPT, Bing chat, or Google Bard, to prevent them from generating illegal, racist, or biased content.

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As one of the first to create such a comprehensive draft of an AI law, the EU is solidly ahead of the US and other countries in taking control of AI regulation and policies. 

Worldwide, policymakers are striving for strong government regulation on AI development and use, including in the US. Just last week, three bipartisan bills were announced to ensure AI transparency, address its risks, and ensure the US maintains a leadership role in innovation.

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The US is also proposing rules for testing AI systems and protecting user data and privacy, and China is imposing strict censorship rules and control over AI technologies and data.

Whether these laws prove effective remains to be seen, as the fast-paced development of AI technologies, particularly generative AI, has been changing the industry constantly.