EU 'in touching distance' of world's first laws regulating artificial intelligence

The EU is within "touching distance" of passing the world's first laws on artificial intelligence, giving Brussels the power to shut down services that cause harm to society, says the AI tsar who has spent the last four years developing the legislation. "Artificial intelligence does have a profound impact on everything we do and therefore it was time to bring in some safeguards and guardrails on how this technology will evolve for the benefit of our citizens" said Dragoș Tudorache, a Romanian MEP and co-rapporteur of the parliamentary committee steering through the legislation, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian. Speaking in his Brussels parliamentary office, Tudorache said: "I'm more optimistic than I am pessimistic about AI. I would be a pessimist if we did nothing about it." Tudorache said there was a chance he could get a final text agreed for the AI Act by Wednesday.