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European Parliament Moves Closer to Approving AI Regulations

Two European Parliament committees last week approved the EU’s proposed law governing artificial intelligence, bringing the bloc closer to implementing first-of-its-kind AI regulations that could include new import restrictions on a range of products. The proposed rules, adopted by the Internal Market and the Civil Liberties committees, are next expected to receive a vote from the full parliament in June before lawmakers begin negotiations with the European Council “on the final form of the law,” Parliament said in a news release.

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If implemented, the law could place new requirements on EU importers and distributors, including by requiring them to conduct various “conformity” assessments on certain AI products to make sure they comply with the law, according to an updated version of the proposed amendments to the regulations released May 11. The document also includes export restrictions, saying it’s “appropriate to prohibit the export of such AI systems to third countries by providers residing in the Union.”

The rules would “strictly” block AI systems “with an unacceptable level of risk to people’s safety,” including “systems that deploy subliminal or purposefully manipulative techniques, exploit people’s vulnerabilities or are used for social scoring,” Parliament said. The law could include “bans” on a range of “intrusive and discriminatory uses of AI systems,” such as “real-time” remote biometric identification systems in public spaces, predictive policing systems, emotion recognition systems in law enforcement and more.