News item | 07-12-2022 | 11:00 am
The European telecom ministers have reached an agreement in Brussels on the so-called artificial intelligence regulation (AI Act). This will give an extra boost to the possibilities of this technology for developers, entrepreneurs and consumers in the EU and the Netherlands. This includes basic agreements about the operation of these products and the support for users of these AI systems, such as SMEs.
About this AI Act the European Parliament and the European Commission will now continue negotiations. The aim is to reach a final agreement in the autumn of 2023, after which Member States will implement the regulation in their own country.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate): “Artificial intelligence (AI) enables digital innovations in our society. Think of better or less burdensome medical diagnoses and treatments. The technology also creates opportunities for the manufacturing industry, among others, to produce more efficiently through digitization. We must therefore stimulate innovation by researchers and entrepreneurs through, for example, test environments. At the same time, we must guarantee well-functioning and safe AI systems. This agreement is a good step towards the right balance between them.”
State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations and Digitization): “With this agreement, we ensure innovation for the market on the one hand, but we also protect the fundamental rights of citizens. Citizens should always know when artificial intelligence is being deployed. Citizens should also always be able to file a complaint if they think they are being disadvantaged by an AI system. Today we are taking an important step.”
Clarity for developers and users
The AI Act creates clarity for AI developers when they want to offer their products on the European market. The legal obligations, such as an inspection, will soon only apply to ‘high-risk’ AI systems that, for example, influence people’s chances in the labor market, the judiciary, financial services or medical devices. About 15% of all AI systems fall under this category. Consumers who buy or come into contact with AI products can therefore assume that these systems are safe.
At the same time, the European rules ensure a level playing field; Non-European providers of AI products and services must also comply with this if they sell their products here. Organizations that use AI, such as SMEs, will soon be able to rely on it working properly and receiving support from the developer.
Progress Data Act and Cyber Resilience Act
At this Telecom Council, the ministers also discussed the progress of two other EU legislative packages: the Data act and the Cyber Resilience Actwhich was announced by the European Commission in September.
For the Data act the government considers it important that providers of cloud services are obliged to ensure that users can switch to other providers. The current proposal only describes switching between the same type of services, for example between document processing systems. As a result, different types of services from different providers cannot necessarily communicate with each other, something the cabinet wants to regulate. Further tightening is also necessary to ensure that the user rights of and access to their data for users of smart digital devices (IoT) work effectively in practice and are feasible for the providers.
The Netherlands has about the Cyber Resilience Act already made a number of recommendations, including those sent to the European Commission together with Denmark and Germany. For example, as far as the government is concerned, a higher level of ambition than is currently included in the proposal regarding support in the field of cyber security from manufacturers of products or providers of services. The proposed maximum support term of five years seems too short to be meaningful in, for example, keeping digital industrial systems, drones and business applications running safely.