The AI Act: getting the first step right

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been compared to electricity: it is a general-purpose technology with applications in all domains of human activity. Electricity has found uses that no one envisaged when the first electrical systems were designed and, in practice, life would be completely different without this technology. Ideally, the Act would have developed the two central ideas addressed by the White Paper: creating legislation that stimulates innovation, while at the same time guaranteeing trust. However, in its current form, the document has a few drawbacks and needs to mature to meet the expectations of the AI community, in particular, and of society, in general. The main sections of the Act are concerned with prohibited practices, high-risk systems, transparency requirements, and governance.