Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

EU proposes rules for high-risk artificial intelligence uses

European Union officials have unveiled proposals for reining in high-risk uses of artificial intelligence such as live facial scanning that could threaten people’s safety or rights

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 21 April 2021 07:23 EDT
Belgium Europe Artificial Intelligence Rules
Belgium Europe Artificial Intelligence Rules

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

European Union officials unveiled proposals Wednesday for reining in high-risk uses of artificial intelligence such as live facial scanning that could threaten people's safety or rights.

The draft regulations from the EU's executive commission include rules on the use of the rapidly expanding technology in activities such as choosing school, job or loan applicants. They also would ban artificial intelligence outright in a few situations, such as “social scoring” and systems used to manipulate human behavior.

The proposals are the 27-nation bloc’s latest move to maintain its role as the world’s standard-bearer for technology regulation. EU officials say they are taking a “risk-based approach” as they try to balance the need to protect rights such as data privacy against the need to encourage innovation.

“With these landmark rules, the EU is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted,” Margrethe Vestager the European Commission’s executive vice president for the digital age, said in a statement. “By setting the standards, we can pave the way for to ethical technology worldwide and ensure that the EU remains competitive along the way.”

The proposals also include a prohibition in principle on “remote biometric identification,” such as the use of live facial recognition on crowds of people in public places, with exceptions only for narrowly defined law enforcement purposes such as searching for a missing child or a wanted person.

The draft regulations say chatbots and deepfakes should be labeled so people know they are interacting with a machine.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in