The EU finally approves the first significant artificial intelligence law in history

Tuesday saw the member states of the European Union adopt the first significant legislation governing artificial intelligence, as organizations worldwide scramble to enact limitations on the technology.

The groundbreaking AI Act, which seeks to establish the first complete set of regulations for artificial intelligence, has received final approval from the EU Council.

“The adoption of the AI act is a significant milestone for the European Union,» the secretary of state for digitalization of Belgium, Mathieu Michel, made the announcement on Tuesday.

“With the AI act, Europe emphasizes the importance of trust, transparency and accountability when dealing with new technologies while at the same time ensuring this fast-changing technology can flourish and boost European innovation,” Michel added.

The AI Act treats artificial intelligence using a risk-based approach, which means that based on the risks they provide to society, various uses of the technology are given varying treatment.

Applications of AI that are deemed to be «unacceptable» due to their level of danger are forbidden by legislation. Unacceptable AI applications include predictive policing, emotional detection in the workplace and classroom, and «social scoring» systems that evaluate persons based on the collection and analysis of personal data.

Autonomous cars and medical equipment are classified as high-risk AI systems based on the potential threats they may cause to individuals’ health, safety, and basic rights. They also include the use of AI in educational and financial services, where prejudice may be ingrained in AI systems.