Even for toys

EU introduces strict rules for dealing with AI

The list of banned technologies includes AI systems that exploit the weaknesses of people or groups.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Leo (KI-generiert))

From Sunday, new restrictions will apply to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). For example, the evaluation of social behavior, which is used extensively in China, will be prohibited. While supporters speak of "unacceptable risks" posed by AI, critics fear that Europe will be left behind.

According to the EU's AI Act, AI systems that pose "unacceptable risks" to safety, health or fundamental rights will be banned from this date, except where "national security" is concerned.

For example, the EU prohibits the use of AI programs that assess social behavior. In social scoring, for example, citizens in the one-party dictatorship of China are divided into behavioral categories and rewarded or punished. In the EU, there should also be no emotion recognition in the workplace or in educational institutions.

Long list of bans
Manipulative AI systems that use deceptive techniques to influence people's behavior are still not permitted. This group includes, for example, voice-controlled toys that tempt children to behave dangerously.

The EU's ban list also includes AI systems that exploit the weakness of people or groups. This also includes automated "robo-calls" that can be used to defraud older people.

Facial recognition in public spaces - for example through video surveillance in public places - should also not be permitted in principle. However, there are exceptions: Police and other security authorities are to be allowed to use such facial recognition in order to prosecute certain crimes such as human trafficking and terrorism.

The deadline is February 2
With the deadline of February 2, 2025, companies that develop or use AI must assess their systems according to the degree of risk and take appropriate measures to meet the legal requirements. According to the EU Commission, the aim of the new regulation is not only to protect the rights of consumers. It also wants to ensure that AI is used responsibly.

Criticism from industry
The German industry association Bitkom, for example, has criticized the AI law because it does not offer any legal certainty. It is unclear which applications the legal ban actually applies to, said Susanne Dehmel, member of the Bitkom management board. "Politicians have set high requirements and tight deadlines for companies in the AI Act, but have not done their homework themselves." The risk would now be borne by the companies that develop or use AI. "While AI is to be expanded in the USA with three-digit billion sums and extremely powerful language models are being published in China, we in Germany and Europe are throwing a spanner in the works of AI companies."

"Europe at risk of being sidelined by AI"
 The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, admitted in a joint blog post that Europe's competitiveness is at risk. "As a global revolution in artificial intelligence unfolds, the EU could be left behind."

However, von der Leyen and Lagarde wrote that Europe also has the necessary prerequisites to catch up in the technological race. In the EU, there are almost as many graduates in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) per million inhabitants as in the United States. "This talent generates a lot of ideas: Europe's share of global patent applications is close to that of the United States."