EU Urges Voluntary Code of Conduct for AI

Before the upcoming EU AI Act, legislators in the European Union are attempting to implement a code of conduct for the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI).

At a joint meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council on May 31 in Sweden, EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager stated that U.S. and EU officials should exert pressure on the AI industry to adopt a voluntary code of conduct within the next few months.

According to Vestager, this would protect them while the new laws are drafted.

She emphasized that the new regulations will go into effect in two and a half to three years in the “best of cases,” which is “obviously way too late.”

“We need to act now.”

Vestager is responsible for coordinating an EU data strategy and AI approach. She stated that if the EU and U.S. take the initiative, a code of conduct can be developed that will make everyone “more comfortable” with the trajectory of AI development.

“That is the kind of speed you need to discuss in the coming weeks, a few months, and of course also involve industry … in order for society to trust what is ongoing.”

The chief of technology stated that lawmakers must agree on specifics rather than broad generalizations.

Members of the European Parliament are still finalizing the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which will introduce comprehensive regulations for the technology.

The most recent draft of the bill prohibited the use of biometric surveillance and predictive policing tools by the general public.

In addition to AI tools needing to be classified according to their perceived risk level, which ranges from low to unacceptable, this must also be accomplished.

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the company responsible for the AI chatbot ChatGPT, spoke to EU lawmakers on May 25 regarding the overregulation of the AI industry.