In this #4 post of the Symposium "Hitchhikers Guide to Law & Tech", Nathalie Smuha and Anna Morandini continue asking fundamental questions on the interaction between regulation and technology. Can the European AI Act mitigate the ethical and legal concerns raised by this hyped technology? Which trail is the EU blazing to secure "Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence" in Europe, as distinct from the laissez-faire approach in the US and the state-centric approach in China? In this post, both authors unpack the proposed AI regulation and evaluate its merits and pitfalls. After explaining the build-up towards the proposal, they set out the scope of the Act and its four categories of risks as part of a "risk-based approach" to regulate AI.

The European AI Act, a proposed European law on artificial intelligence is the first law on AI by a major regulator. It lays down harmonised rules for the EU. The European Commission unveiled this new proposal for an EU regulatory framework in April 2021. "As expected, the debate around this legislation has already started. On the positive side, this regulation may become the global standard, in the same way GDPR has become. It may also make AI systems more trustworthy and offer extra protections to the public. On the other side, it may stifle innovation, add more costs and red tape, which may hinder start-ups from entering the market. We will hear more on this around the world before it becomes law, currently expected in 2023. With the rise of Industry 4.0 the approach to producing goods and services has triggered a trend in the current manufacturing industry that focuses on automation of processes and data exchange. The approach integrates the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-enhanced systems and cloud computing and relies heavily on the timely availability of data about every aspect and stage of the production/creation process. The IoT is not something you will experience as such itself. What you will see is that more and more objects become connected. If you are manufacturing products, you will be negotiating with providers of connectivity and in the very near future with any tiny part of the artefact that you are intending to build. It becomes very important to know the origin of these artefacts. We are in the middle of a manufacturing revolution, a five-year cycle as we can see from what happened to the products itself in the supply chain. In the 2013 Introduction to the Springer book Enabling Things to Talk Prof. Dr. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director at Fraunhofer-Institut for "Materialfluss und Logistik", describes the consequences for something as "solid" as logistics: "The logical consequence of the Internet of Things is not just a new philosophy of how we can control our production and logistics.

Eve Gaumond is a graduate student at Laval University in Canada and an affiliate to Quebec's Observatory on the Societal Impact of AI and Digital Technologies. Her work focuses on the use of AI to enhance access to judicial information.

Faced with the rapid technological development of AI and a global policy context where more and more countries are investing heavily in AI, the EU must act as one to harness the many opportunities and address challenges of AI in a future-proof manner. To promote the development of AI and address the potential high risks it poses to safety and fundamental rights equally, the Commission is presenting both a proposal for a regulatory framework on AI and a revised coordinated plan on AI.

The European Commission is about to release an important policy package, which will include a proposal for a "Regulation on a European Approach for Artificial intelligence". This will be the first attempt to define a comprehensive regulatory framework for AI, dealing with essential aspects such as the definition of high-risk applications, regulatory obligations for providers of AI systems, the post-market surveillance of AI, the conformity assessment of high-risk AI applications and the possible creation of a new AI Board. This will be a very ambitious proposal, which has been expected for several months also outside the EU, where several countries are considering regulating specific uses of AI. CEPS has therefore decided to invite the Director for AI and Digital Industry at the European Commission DG CONNECT, Lucilla Sioli, for an informal debate followed by a round of first impressions on the content of the proposal. AGENDA: 17.00 Welcome and introductory remarks – Andrea Renda, CEPS and EUI

This brand-new report is the third in EIT Digital's Policy Perspective series and addresses the important topic on how Europe should deal with Artificial Intelligence. It provides business and policy decision makers with a scenario-based impact assessment instrument for AI policy development. The report explores the impact of Artificial Intelligence in general as well as in more specific application domains strategic for Europe: Health, Manufacturing, Climate, and Mobility. In all of these areas, it identifies both general and sector specific opportunities for and concerns about the further deployment of AI. It concludes with an assessment addressing the impact on innovation potential, fairness, trust, and growth opportunities.

Artificial Intelligence is developing fast. It will change our lives by improving healthcare (e.g.

Khalil Rouhana, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's DG CONNECT, spoke on artificial intelligence at Imagine Digital Connect Europe (ICT) 2018 which SciTech Europa attended in December, 2018 in Vienna, Austria. During his speech, Rouhana touched on the upcoming plans for its development and evolution. Rouhana started by reflecting on AI's journey so far and referred to the idea that "we all know the mountain, the uphill/downhill development of artificial intelligence, but today AI is here to stay." He then followed this on by explaining that that "AI is the normal and natural development of digital systems. We make them smarter as we embed smart systems in all types of products and services, which make them more antonymous whilst bringing us additional functionalities, security and safety."

The Commission is proposing a three-pronged approach to increase public and private investment in AI, prepare for socio-economic changes, and ensure an appropriate ethical and legal framework. This follows European leaders' call for a European approach on AI. Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said: "Just as the steam engine and electricity did in the past, AI is transforming our world. It presents new challenges that Europe should meet together in order for AI to succeed and work for everyone. We need to invest at least €20 billion by the end of 2020. The Commission is playing its part: today, we are giving a boost to researchers so that they can develop the next generation of AI technologies and applications, and to companies, so that they can embrace and incorporate them."