The Council of the EU adopted an Artificial Intelligence Act on Tuesday, the first of its kind in the world, which could set a global standard for the regulation of AI.

The new law is intended to promote the development and use of safe and trustworthy AI systems throughout the EU’s internal market. It is also intended to ensure respect for the fundamental rights of EU citizens and to stimulate investment and innovation in the field of AI in Europe.

The AI Act only applies to areas covered by EU law and provides for exceptions, e.g. for systems used exclusively for military and defence purposes and for research purposes. It follows a “risk-based” approach, i.e. the higher the risk of harm to society, the stricter the rules.

Four different types of AI depending on the risk

“This ground-breaking law, the first of its kind in the world, addresses a global technological challenge that also creates opportunities for our societies and economies,” said Mathieu Michel, Belgian Secretary of State for Digitalisation, adding that the law is “an important milestone” for the EU.

The law will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the coming days and will enter into force 20 days after this publication. The new regulation will apply for two years after its entry into force, with some exceptions for certain provisions.

The new law categorises four different types of AI according to risk. Low-risk AI systems, such as video games or spam filters, would be subject to very limited transparency obligations, while high-risk AI systems would be authorised but subject to a number of requirements and obligations in order to gain access to the EU market.

Citizens can lodge complaints against AI systems

The law prohibits AI systems that socially evaluate and categorise people based on their gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, migration status, nationality, political affiliation, religion or sexual orientation.

AI systems such as cognitive behavioural manipulation and social scoring will be banned in the EU and the law also prohibits the use of AI for predictive policing based on profiling. Citizens can lodge a complaint against AI systems that jeopardise their rights.

To ensure proper enforcement, several bodies will be set up, including an AI Office within the European Commission and a scientific panel of independent experts to support enforcement action.