The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is a regulatory framework designed to oversee the development and deployment of artificial intelligence within EU member states. The Act, which was formally adopted in March 2024, introduces stringent guidelines emphasizing ethics, safety, and transparency in AI applications.
As of February 2, 2025, several key provisions have come into force:
- Prohibited AI Practices: The Act bans specific AI applications, including:
- Biometric categorization that deduces personal attributes like race or political beliefs from physical features.
- Subliminal techniques aimed at influencing behavior without user awareness.
- Emotion recognition systems, such as analyzing customer emotions during calls.
- Social scoring based on personal characteristics.
- Unrestricted collection of facial images from the internet to create databases.
- Real-time biometric identification in public spaces by law enforcement, with limited exceptions.
- Predictive policing tools that forecast individual criminal behavior.
- Exploiting vulnerabilities of specific groups, including children and individuals with disabilities.
- AI Literacy Requirements: Organizations utilizing AI are mandated to ensure that their employees possess an appropriate level of understanding of AI systems, tailored to their roles. For instance, professionals in human resources or marketing should have a basic awareness of AI-related risks, while those in legal or healthcare sectors are expected to attain a more advanced proficiency. Companies must document and monitor internal training and assessments, as regulatory authorities have the authority to audit these records.
Non-compliance with the AI Act can lead to substantial penalties, including fines up to €35 million. The Act's comprehensive nature underscores the EU's commitment to responsible AI development and deployment, aiming to balance innovation with ethical considerations and public safety.