On March 13,2024, the European Union (EU) Parliament officially adopted the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, marking the first-ever comprehensive legal framework in the world to regulate the emerging technology and related investments.

In development since 2021, the EU AI Act categorizes technologies based on their risk level, ranging from "unacceptable" - meaning banned from being released - to high, medium, and low risk. Some European countries, such as Germany and France, supported member states' governments having the ability to "self-regulate" AI companies, as they believed overly strict regulations could reduce their competitiveness against Chinese and American companies.

"The AI Act has put in place the guardrails to ensure that AI is developed in a human-centric way, and that the technology will help us boost innovation for economic growth, social progress, and unleash human potential," said Dragos Tudorache, the MEP who oversaw the EU's discussions on the bill.

The adopted AI regulation is not seen as an "end point" for the technology, but rather the beginning of a new governance model built around it. Legal experts believe the act is a significant milestone for international AI regulation and could pave the way for other countries to follow suit.

Mark Ferguson, public policy expert at Pinsent Masons, said that with the law's adoption, the work has only just begun, and businesses will need to work closely with regulators to understand how to implement it. However, there are concerns. Emma Wright, a partner at law firm Harbottle & Lewis, expressed her worry: "Technology moves and changes at a rapid pace, as you've seen with the developments in AI just in the last year or so, and this could quickly make the EU AI Act outdated, especially given the timescales involved in implementing it."

The EU AI Act is expected to take effect in May after final legislative procedures are completed. Its provisions will be enforced in stages starting in 2025.

(According to CNBC)