Towards a regulation on artificial intelligence in European Union (AI Act)
Towards a regulation on artificial intelligence (AI) in the European Union. The proposed regulatory framework on Artificial Intelligence (8 september 2021) defines following specific objectives:
- ensure that AI systems placed on the Union market and used are safe and respect existing law on fundamental rights and Union values
- ensure legal certainty to facilitate investment and innovation in AI
- enhance governance and effective enforcement of existing law on fundamental rights and safety requirements applicable to AI systems
- facilitate the development of a single market for lawful, safe and trustworthy AI applications and prevent market fragmentation.
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain union legislative acts.
The EESC welcomes the fact that the Commission proposal for the Artificial Intelligence Act not only addresses the risks associated with AI, but also raises the bar substantially as regards the quality, performance and trustworthiness of AI that the EU is willing to allow.
About AI definition
The definition of AI (Article 3 in conjunction with Annex I AIA) has given rise to a discussion among AI scientists to the effect that a number of the examples given in Annex I are not considered AI by AI scientists, and a number of important AI techniques are missing.
The EESC sees no added value in Annex I and recommends removing it entirely from the AIA. The EESC also recommends amending the definition in Article 3 as follows:
“‘Artificial intelligence system’ (AI system) means software that can, in an automated manner, for a given set of human-defined objectives, generate outputs such as content, predictions, recommendations or decisions, influencing the environment it interacts with.”
