EU's AI Act Comes into Effect, Regulating High-Risk AI Applications
On February 2, the European Union's AI Act officially came into force, aiming to prevent potential misuse of Artificial Intelligence. One of the key concerns, according to the European Commission, is facial recognition, and the AI Act seeks to ensure its safe use. The Act categorizes AI into four risk levels: minimal, limited, high, and unacceptable, with the latter being strictly regulated.
Other aspects of AI are also addressed, including social scoring programs, predictive policing approaches that create individual profiles based on their potential to break the law, and targeted identification of vulnerable individuals. The European Commission emphasizes that identifying individuals through facial recognition in public spaces, as well as biometric classification to infer "their race, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or trade union membership" are also prohibited. The AI Act anticipates the implementation of these techniques and prevents their entry into Europe.
Companies specializing in AI are now required to know where to draw the line when offering AI solutions to their European clients to avoid being liable under the AI Act. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to €35 million. The legislative text has already sparked reactions from American AI sector actors, who are criticizing the restrictions.
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