EU keen to set global rules on artificial intelligence

After a draft white paper about the EU's position on AI regulation was leaked earlier this month, Google chief Sundar Pichai, on Monday (20 January), warned the bloc about imposing its own regulations and called for an "international alignment" on the core values of the future laws of the sector. However, ahead of what is expected to be the fourth industrial revolution, the European Commission wants to ensure an "appropriate" ethical and legal framework for the development of AI, which promises to boost innovation while making EU citizens' rights a priority. In November, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen pledged to develop AI legislation similar to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an EU law on privacy. "It is not about damming up the flow of data, it is about making rules that define how to handle data responsibly," she told MEPs back then. "For us, the protection of a person's digital identity is the overriding priority," she added. According to Ursula Pachl, deputy director-general at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an NGO in Brussels, "it is important that the European Commission has announced a legislative framework and is vocal about the ambition to become a global standard-setter in this area, much like it has done with the GDPR on data protection".