Strengthening the EU AI Act: Defining Key Terms on AI Manipulation

In the amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 14 June 2023 on the Artificial Intelligence Act, the EU's regulatory stance on AI Manipulation is outlined as such: "(a) the placing on the market, putting into service or use of an AI system that deploys subliminal techniques beyond a person's consciousness or purposefully manipulative or deceptive techniques, with the objective to or the effect of materially distorting a person's or a group of persons' behaviour by appreciably impairing the person's ability to make an informed decision, thereby causing the person to take a decision that that person would not have otherwise taken in a manner that causes or is likely to cause that person, another person or group of persons significant harm; The prohibition of AI system that deploys subliminal techniques referred to in the first sub-paragraph shall not apply to AI systems intended to be used for approved therapeutical purposes on the basis of specific informed consent of the individuals that are exposed to them or, where applicable, of their legal guardian; (b) the placing on the market, putting into service or use of an AI system that exploits any of the vulnerabilities of a person or a specific group of persons, including characteristics of such person's or such group's known or predicted personality traits or social or economic situation, age, physical or mental ability with the objective or to the effect of materially distorting the behaviour of that person or a person pertaining to that group in a manner that causes or is likely to cause that person or another person significant harm [1]" We argue that in the current regulatory framing, there is a lack of clarity of core concepts in the present amendments. For example, "personality traits" are mentioned six times in the latest amendments, and yet are not defined at any point in the document, or in the draft of the Act [2, 1].