EU outlines wide-ranging AI regulation, but leaves the door open for police surveillance

The European Union has published a new framework to regulate the use of artificial intelligence across the bloc's 27 member states. The proposal, which will take years to implement into law and will be subject to many tweaks and amendments during this time, nevertheless constitutes the most ambitious AI regulations seen globally to date. The regulations cover a wide range of applications, from software in self-driving cars to algorithms used to vet job candidates, and arrive at a time when countries around the world are struggling with the ethical ramifications of artificial intelligence. Similar to the EU's data privacy law, GDPR, the regulation gives the bloc the ability to fine companies that infringe its rules up to 6 percent of their global revenues, though such punishments are extremely rare. "It is a landmark proposal of this Commission. It's our first ever legal framework on artificial intelligence," said European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager during a press conference.