The European Union has made a milestone by enacting the first international law regulating artificial intelligence, which represents a significant step in managing the risks associated with a rapidly growing technology. The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which came into effect on August 1, classifies AI systems according to their level of risk and establishes strict requirements for those that pose a greater threat to health, safety, and human rights.
The law prohibits the use of high-risk systems, such as those that manipulate individual decisions through subliminal techniques or unrestricted facial recognition systems used by law enforcement authorities, as is the case in China. Other systems, although not prohibited, must comply with a wide range of requirements, such as having a risk management plan, being trained with quality data, and ensuring human supervision. This includes, for example, systems used in sectors such as education, healthcare, and public administration.
For lower-risk systems, such as chatbots, the law mainly requires transparency. It is mandatory for users to know that they are interacting with an AI, and that the images and texts generated by this technology carry a clarification in this regard. National and EU authorities will be responsible for monitoring compliance with these regulations and imposing fines in case of infringement.
AI, which is already an integral part of our society, is particularly concerning when used to create fake images (deepfakes), facilitate scams, or violate privacy. Additionally, many companies have been criticized and reported for the fraudulent use of copyrighted material to train their AI.
In a global context, the EU leads these regulatory measures, but other countries like Canada and the United States are also debating laws to regulate AI, aware of the urgency to control this technology to ensure that it is used safely and benefits everyone.
