EU set to give final sign off for artificial intelligence law

Brussels, May 21 (IANS/DPA) European Union (EU) ministers are set to give the final approval to stricter rules governing artificial intelligence (AI) in Brussels on Tuesday.

The legislation aims to make the use of AI in the EU safer and is based on a proposal made by the European Commission in 2021.

Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU countries reached an agreement on the regulation of AI in December after marathon negotiations.

The regulations aim to ensure that AI systems are as transparent, comprehensible, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly as possible.

An important aspect is that AI systems are monitored by humans and not just by other technological systems.

AI systems are to be categorised into different risk groups in the future. The higher the potential risks of an application, the higher the requirements will be.

For example, AI systems, considered particularly high-risk and used in critical infrastructures or the education and healthcare sectors, will have to fulfil strict requirements.

AI applications that violate EU values are to be banned altogether. This includes the evaluation of social behaviour, otherwise known as "social scoring".

In China, this is used to rate citizens' behaviour, allowing them to unlock benefits for good behaviour.

Additionally, emotion recognition will be prohibited in the workplace and educational institutions in the EU.

The hope is that the rules will be replicated in other legal systems around the world.