(CNN) —European Union lawmakers struck a deal Friday agreeing to one of the world's first major comprehensive artificial intelligence laws.
The landmark legislation, called the AI Act, sets up a regulatory (监管) framework to promote the development of AI while addressing the risks associated with the rapidly developing technology. The legislation bans harmful AI practices "considered to be a clear threat to people's safety, livelihoods and rights".
In a news conference, Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, called the law "a balanced and human-centered approach" that will "no doubt be setting the global standard for years to come".
The regulatory framework, which classifies AI uses by risk and increases regulation on higher risk levels, was first proposed in 2021. The riskiest uses for AI are banned. According to the law, those include systems that exploit specific disadvantaged groups, biometric identification systems for law enforcement purposes and artificial intelligence that arranges controllable "subconscious techniques". Limited risk systems, such as chat-bots like Open AI's ChatGPT, or technology that generates images, audio or video content, are subject to new transparency (透明) duties under the law.
"The AI Act is much more than a rulebook—it's a launchpad for EU start-ups and researchers to lead the global AI race," Thierry Breton, the EU Commissioner for Internal Market, wrote on social media, "The best is yet to come."
Artificial intelligence broke into the mainstream with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT chat-bot in November 2022. Seemingly overnight, generative AI technology exploded in popularity and spurredan AI arms race. But AI's disturbance reaches far beyond the world of big tech: Educators have struggled with generative AI's ability to complete schoolwork assignments; artists and musicians have fought with the potential for Al-fueled imitation (模仿) and even the media industry has seen its debate.