The European Union has released the final version of the Artificial Intelligence Act, which details the critical deadlines for adhering to the world’s first comprehensive AI regulations.
The legislation, which takes effect from today, (Thursday 1 August) was given final approval by the EU Council in May.
The EU AI Act assigns its rules to every company using AI systems based on four levels of risk which in turn determines what timelines apply to them.
The four types of risk are: no risk, minimal risk, high risk, and prohibited AI systems.
The EU will ban certain practices entirely as of February 2025. That includes those that manipulate a user’s decision-making or expand facial recognition databases through internet scraping.
Other AI systems that are determined high-risk, like AIs that collect biometrics and AI used for critical infrastructure or employment decisions, will have the strictest regulations to follow.
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It is anticipated that about 85 per cent of AI companies will fall under the third category of “minimal risk” with very little regulation required.
Curtis Wilson from Belfast is the Staff Data Engineer at the Synopsys Software Integrity Group, a global company which includes an office location in Belfast as well as Dublin, and throughout Europe and the Middle East, Canada and the United States. Mr Wilson has warned that the “greatest problem facing AI developers is not regulation, but a lack of trust in AI.”
Mr Wilson comments: “For an AI system to reach its full potential, it needs to be trusted by the people who use it. Internally, we have worked hard to build this trust using rigorous testing regimes, continuous monitoring of live systems, and thorough knowledge-sharing sessions with end users to ensure they understand where, when, and to what extent each system can be trusted.
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"Externally, though, I see regulatory frameworks like the EU AI Act as an essential component to building trust in AI. The strict rules and punishing fines will deter careless developers and help customers feel more confident in trusting and using AI systems.
"The Act itself is mostly concerned with regulating high-risk systems and foundational models. However, many of the requirements already align with data science best practices, such as risk management, testing procedures, and thorough documentation. Ensuring that all AI developers adhere to these standards is to everyone’s benefit.
"Similar to GDPR, any UK business that sells into the EU market will need to concern themselves with the EU AI Act. However, even those that don’t can’t ignore it. Certain parts of the AI Act, particularly those in relation to AI as a safety component in consumer goods, might also apply in Northern Ireland automatically as a consequence of the Windsor Framework.
"The UK government is moving to regulate AI as well, and a whitepaper released by the government last month highlighted the importance of interoperability with EU (and US) AI regulation. UK companies aligning themselves to the EU AI Act will not only maintain access to the EU market, but hopefully get ahead of the curve for the upcoming UK regulation.
"From software licensing to data privacy regulations, UK businesses are already used to having to deal with EU regulatory frameworks. Many of the obligations laid out in the act are simply data science best practices and things companies should already be doing.
"There are some additional obligations around registration and certification, which will probably lead to some friction. Small companies and start-ups will experience issues more strongly; the regulation acknowledges this and has included provisions for sandboxes to foster AI innovation for these smaller businesses."
"However, these sandboxes are to be set up on the national level by individual member states, and so UK businesses may not have access.”
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