New Delhi: The European Union is set to establish a groundbreaking regulation that will govern the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including OpenAI’s renowned chatbot ChatGPT. The AI Act will mandate companies that employ AI tools to disclose any copyrighted materials used in developing their systems. The regulation, which has been in the making for nearly two years, is aimed at managing the potential risks associated with AI.
The AI tools will be categorized based on their perceived risk levels, ranging from minimal to limited, high, and unacceptable. Some of the areas of concern include misinformation, discriminatory language, and biometric surveillance. While high-risk tools will not be banned, their deployment will be subject to a high level of transparency in their operations.
Sources familiar with the discussions revealed that the requirement to disclose copyrighted material used in developing AI systems was a late addition to the proposal. Initially, some committee members had proposed banning the use of copyrighted material to train generative AI models altogether. However, a compromise was reached, and a transparency requirement was adopted instead.
Svenja Hahn, a European Parliament deputy, hailed the regulation as a proportional means of regulating AI, protecting citizens’ rights, fostering innovation, and boosting the economy. The proposed legislation is currently in the trialogue stage, where EU lawmakers and member states will finalize the bill’s details.
Within weeks OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot saw phenomenal growth, which led it to attract 100 million monthly active users and become the fastest-growing consumer application in history. This spurred a race among tech companies to bring generative AI products to market, causing concern among some observers. Elon Musk even supported a proposal to halt the development of such systems for six months.
As generative AI technology becomes increasingly all-pervasive, regulating its use is essential to protect citizens’ rights and privacy. EU’s proposed AI Act is a step in the right direction towards ensuring that companies using AI technology do so ethically and transparently.