By akademiotoelektronik, 03/12/2022

EU Council Presidency proposes significant changes to AI Bill

The Slovenian presidency has circulated a compromise text on the EU AI bill, including major changes in the areas of social scoring, biometric recognition systems and high-risk applications, while identifying future discussion points.

The rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU shared a first compromise text on Monday 29 November to accompany a progress report on the European law on AI.

Scope and definitions

In the progress report, seen by EURACTIV, EU countries reaffirm their exclusive jurisdiction over national security, and insist that AI (artificial intelligence) systems developed exclusively for military should be removed from the scope of the regulation.

AI systems developed for the sole purpose of scientific research and development have also been excluded from the scope.

The presidency has developed the definition of AI systems to better distinguish them from traditional software programs. AI systems are therefore considered to have the ability to process data or other types of input "to infer how to achieve a given set of human-defined goals through learning, reasoning or modeling", depending on the compromise.

An AI supplier is now defined as an individual or organization "who has an AI system developed and who brings this system to market or puts it into use". Suppliers will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of the regulations.

A new category of "general purpose" AI system has been added, which should not be considered to fall within the scope of the regulation, unless the system is owned by a commercial brand or is integrated into another system subject to the Regulation.

Social rating

The Commission's proposal includes a ban on AI applications deemed to pose unacceptable risks. One of them is social scoring or social rating, a practice initiated in China that is considered to promote mass surveillance.

The presidency now proposes to extend the ban on social rating of public authorities to private entities. In addition, the definition of prohibition has also been extended to include the exploitation of a "social or economic situation. »

These changes could have profound implications for the financial sector, as, for example, loan interest rates are currently calculated based on the probability of repayment.

The use of AI systems for estimating insurance premiums has also been included in high-risk systems.

Data and artificial intelligence: how Europe wants to catch up

The European Commission presented the main lines of its digital strategy for its new mandate, which runs until 2024. Its goal: make up for the accumulated delay against the American and Chinese giants. An article from our partner La Tribune.

Biometric recognition

The biometric identification systems covered by the legislation are no longer defined as "remote" systems, but as any system making it possible to identify people " without their consent".

The possibility of using real-time biometric identification systems has been extended to actors who are not law enforcement authorities but who collaborate with them. The reason for the use of these systems has been extended to the protection of critical infrastructures.

Biometric systems can only be used with the consent of the judicial authority. In urgent cases, the initial proposal provided that authorization could also be requested ex post.

On the other hand, according to the new text, the authorization must "be requested without undue delay during its use, and if this authorization is rejected, its use is terminated with immediate effect".

Artificial intelligence: Commission wants to ban 'indiscriminate surveillance' according to internal documents

The European Commission will seek to outlaw artificial intelligence systems used for 'surveillance' operations indiscriminate” as part of new bans to be introduced next week.

High Risk Systems

The AI ​​law introduces specific obligations that present a high risk in terms of health, safety and fundamental rights. In its proposal, the Commission has identified eight high-risk areas, which cannot be changed but only defined more precisely in the future.

The most significant change to the list of high-risk systems is the inclusion of digital infrastructure intended to protect the environment, including "AI systems intended for use in controlling emissions and pollution . »

In law enforcement, the crime analysis subcategory has been removed.

The compromise text foresees that the European Commission will have to evaluate the list of high-risk systems every two years, as well as the list of AI techniques and approaches covered by the regulation.

Artificial intelligence: the government will invest 1.5 billion euros to create champions

The Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, and the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Frédérique Vidal, presented on Monday (8 November), the 2ᵉ phase of the national strategy for artificial intelligence, on the occasion of the event "France is AI".

Outstanding questions

The progress report foresees a number of areas that should require further discussion.

Requirements for high-risk systems are flagged as being vague and requiring practical guidance to facilitate business compliance. The examples given relate to how data quality and transparency obligations could be fulfilled in practice.

Furthermore, several EU countries have pointed out that the requirement for complete and error-free data may be largely unrealistic. "A number of delegations stressed that while this should be the case to the greatest extent possible, it should not be an absolute requirement," the report reads.

Several Member States also highlighted the complexity of the value chain, "where the boundaries between the different actors are not always clearly delineated. As a result, the division of responsibilities may need to be reassessed to better reflect the reality of AI value chains.

Excessive administrative burden for SMEs was a recurring theme in the discussions, an issue that was also raised at the last EU Heads of State Summit.

Concerns have also been raised about the relationship between the AI ​​Act and other pieces of EU legislation to avoid conflicting legislation, particularly in terms of privacy, enforcement, product safety and other industry legislation.