On 13 March 2024, the European Parliament approved the Artificial Intelligence Act (“AIA”), which establishes harmonised rules and obligations for the operators of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) systems within the European market. The aim of this Act is to protect the fundamental rights of data subjects and the values of the European Union, with an approach that focuses on the risks involved in the use of these systems.
The AIA defines AI systems and establishes rules that are based on the risk levels involved, imposing more obligations on operators that use AI systems with higher levels of risk. AI systems that contravene fundamental rights and public safety are prohibited in all cases, along with those that have considerable potential to manipulate people through the use of subliminal techniques.
The applicable scope of the Act will extend to the suppliers of AI systems that are marketed or enter operation within the EU, or whose results are used within the EU, regardless of their origin. It will also extend to the users of these systems, this being understood to mean the people who operate them, rather than those affected by them.
The Act will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will come into force 20 days later, becoming fully applicable within two years, though any cases in which the use of a system is deemed to involve an unacceptable risk to fundamental rights will be prohibited from six months onwards.
Penalties for failing to comply with the Act may amount to as much as 35 million euros or 7% of global turnover from the previous financial year, and they will be adjusted depending on the severity of the infringement.
