The European Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the European Union. The agreement addresses the governmental use of AI, regulations for AI systems like ChatGPT, and transparency rules to be followed before market entry. The EU aims to be the first supranational authority with laws on AI, specifying its beneficial use while mitigating risks. The deal mandates AI models with significant impact to evaluate and address risks, undergo adversarial testing, report incidents to the European Commission, ensure cybersecurity, and disclose energy efficiency.


The European Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the European Union. The agreement addresses the governmental use of AI, regulations for AI systems like ChatGPT, and transparency rules to be followed before market entry. The EU aims to be the first supranational authority with laws on AI, specifying its beneficial use while mitigating risks. The deal mandates AI models with significant impact to evaluate and address risks, undergo adversarial testing, report incidents to the European Commission, ensure cybersecurity, and disclose energy efficiency.

Key Points:

  • Provisional Agreement: The European Parliament and Council negotiators have reached a provisional agreement on rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the European Union.

  • Scope of Agreement: The agreement covers the governmental use of AI, regulations for AI systems such as ChatGPT, and transparency rules to be followed before market entry. It aims to establish the EU as the first supranational authority with laws specifically addressing AI usage.

  • Mandatory Evaluations for Significant Impact: AI models with significant impact and systemic risks must evaluate and address those risks. Additionally, they need to undergo adversarial testing for system resilience, report incidents to the European Commission, ensure cybersecurity, and disclose energy efficiency.

  • General AI Regulations: General-purpose artificial intelligence with risks must follow codes outlined in the agreement. The deal also specifies the limited cases in which governments can use real-time biometric surveillance, such as specific crimes or severe threats in public spaces.

  • Prohibitions and Consumer Rights: The agreement forbids cognitive behavioral manipulation, scraping facial images from the internet or CCTV footage, social scoring, and biometric systems inferring personal details. Consumers would have the right to file complaints and receive explanations.

  • Fines for Violations: Fines for violations range from 7.5 million euros ($8.1 million) or 1.5% of turnover up to 35 million euros ($37.7 million) or 7% of global turnover, depending on the infringement and company size.

  • Formal Adoption Process: The agreed text will undergo formal adoption by the European Parliament and Council before becoming EU law. The parliament's internal market and civil liberties committees will vote on the agreement at an upcoming meeting.

The provisional agreement marks a significant step in establishing comprehensive regulations for AI in the European Union, focusing on accountability, transparency, and ethical use of artificial intelligence technologies.

(AMAKA NWAOKOCHA, COINTELEGRAPH, 2023)