00:00Artificial intelligence that respects fundamental laws and values and that is safe for citizens.
00:20This was the European Union's goal when it passed the AI Act, a law that will apply to companies developing this technology.
00:28To help implement this legislation from next year, the EU created a voluntary code of conduct, but some companies say that will slow down innovation.
00:39Regulating one of the most revolutionary tools for humanity is the theme of this EU decoded.
00:45The AI Act came into force in 2024 and defines four risk levels for the use of artificial intelligence, from minimal to unacceptable.
00:54It prohibits practices that violate democratic values and human rights.
00:59One example is categorising individuals by their biometric data, which could lead to unfairly profiling minority groups.
01:07The EU now invites AI companies such as the generative chatbots ChatGPT, Mistral, Gemini and Claude to sign a voluntary code of practice on general purpose AI.
01:18By signing the code and adhering to the rules, they are deemed compliant with the AI Act.
01:23Companies that refuse to sign the code may face more stingent expectations and administrative burdens.
01:30Let's hear what Europeans think about this regulatory move.
01:35I feel like if we leave these programs unregulated, they will also, like, they will make harm as much as good as they do.
01:45It has to be like a global thing. So then it's the same rules in China and the same rules in here, but also the same rules in America.
01:54Partially, because it's seen that if you can recreate voices, views, faces, videos, that would be regulated and that would be more restrictive rules.
02:05I know that certain things will never be changed by artificial intelligence.
02:11But they are already there and the European community will certainly intervene better. So, yes, I'm calm.
02:16Let's break it down with Cynthia Crute, senior tech policy reporter at Aeronews.
02:21When it comes to the code, the European Commission is taking somehow a pedagogical approach to this sector.
02:28But what will happen to AI companies if they will violate the AI Act once it's fully implemented?
02:37Yeah, I think it's important to know that the AI Act is being implemented in a period of time. So from 2024 to 2027.
02:46And this August, the rules for general purpose AI models, such as JetGPT or Gemini, they will enter into force.
02:55So that means that the products that were already on the market, such as those examples, they have two more years to comply with the rules.
03:01And everything that's been put on the market after August, they have to comply immediately.
03:07And in case there are breaches, the Commission can impose a fine of up to 15 million euros.
03:13Major players like OpenNI and Anthropik support the code, decided that they wanted to sign it.
03:20But others are refusing, like Meta, which is also an important company.
03:25What are the arguments being used and what is the implication of such a refusal in terms of the global market?
03:32Meta has been, I think since the drafting process of the code started last September, very critical of this whole process.
03:40They say it stifles innovation and they've rolled out a few tools that they cannot fully use in Europe.
03:46Also because of data protection rules, for example.
03:49But in the end, it doesn't matter much if they sign or not, because the AI Act will prevail anyway.
03:55Some analysts claim that this regulation is basically a strategic positioning of the EU
04:02that wants to be perceived as the most trustworthy AI provider.
04:08The USA is highly critic of this approach, so what can come out of these conflicting positions?
04:17Well, it's not only Europe, I think, that's regulating.
04:19China and the US are doing the same.
04:21I think they just take a more sectoral approach instead of more horizontal that the EU is doing.
04:28I think the big difference is really investment in the end.
04:31It's mostly China and the US that have a lot of private investment.
04:35Europe is trying to catch up and they try to mobilise private and public funding,
04:41for example for gigafactories, where they train these AI models.
04:46This code establishes rules on three main aspects.
04:49Copyright, solutions to respect the intellectual property of creative works,
04:54such as images and academic essays.
04:56Standards for avoiding systematic risks of advanced AI models.
05:01One example would be development of chemical or biological weapons.
05:05And transparency, requiring companies to complete a form on how they comply with the AI law.
05:10Our guest is Laura Lázaro Cabrera, a council at the Centre for Democracy and Technology.
05:17Denmark, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, wants to simplify the AI Act and other digital rules.
05:28Could this legislation become an empty promise?
05:33The AI Act is already the result of several years of protracted negotiations and hard-fought compromises.
05:40Every sentence in the AI Act, every word is in there for a reason.
05:45So to say that simply a lot of the AI Act can be done away with,
05:50there can be removed, some sections amended, would be a mistake.
05:54The United States leads the private investment in AI, which is more than ten times the EU's investment.
06:03Beyond the regulation, do you think that the EU is financially committed to providing safer models of AI?
06:12The EU has made great strides towards strengthening the financial support that it provides to AI development in Europe.
06:19Just this year, over €200 billion have been announced for AI investment.
06:25We think that finances are an important part of the equation, and indeed it is important for the EU to maintain a leadership role in the development of AI.
06:34But we think that that leadership has to be tied to a strong safety framework that promotes fundamental rights,
06:41and that promotes people-centred AI systems.
06:45Deepfakes, theft of confidential data, suicides linked to the use of chatbots are some examples of the risks, the dangers of generative AI.
06:56So in addition to regulating companies, should governments also provide awareness to citizens, training about how to use these tools?
07:10Absolutely. One key element of the AI Act is this notion of AI literacy.
07:16But the obligations around AI literacy are aimed at companies developing AI and companies deploying AI.
07:24We need to see similar approaches building at EU-wide level, targeted this time at people.
07:31Just as the industrial revolutions driven by steam power and the internet impacted different sectors,
07:38so too will AI affect many areas, from defence to life science to energy and manufacturing.
07:46However, as with those revolutions, there are risks to consumers, the environment and the rule of law.
07:52Can the legislation keep up with this lightning-fast innovation?
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