The boom in artificial intelligence has sparked a regulatory uproar around the world – and Europe is at the forefront.
Both the EU and the UK are trying to find the elusive balance between harnessing AI growth and mitigating potential risks – but their approaches differ significantly.
The former has opted for a practical, risk-based approach, while the latter has promised a “pro-innovation” stance. However, with news that the UK government is now drafting new rules to regulate the technology, this could soon change.
The EU's stricter and more cautious approach is evident in the AI Act, the world's first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence.
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The law's top-down and horizontal approach sets out clear compliance obligations across all applications and sectors. The European AI Office will also be set up to monitor the implementation of the law.
In contrast, the UK has not yet opted for tailored legislation. Instead, a guidance framework for existing regulators was proposed. That's why the government has committed £10 million to prepare and train regulators to assess the opportunities and risks associated with the technology.
Great Britain is also pursuing a vertical strategy. The aim is to assess risks sector by sector based on five principles:
- Security, protection and robustness.
- Adequate transparency and explainability.
- Justice.
- Accountability and Governance.
- Contestability and redress.
“Through an agile, sector-specific approach, we have started to tackle the risks immediately, which in turn paves the way for the UK to become one of the first countries in the world to safely harness the benefits of AI,” says Michelle Donelan , Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said in February.
The EU's risk-based approach
EU lawmakers, on the other hand, believe it is a risk-based approach and the pursuit of trustworthy AI that will unlock Europe's competitive advantage.
The bloc's rules target AI systems based on risk levels: unacceptable, high, limited and minimal risk. AI tools that endanger security and human rights, such as social scoring, are considered unacceptable and are therefore banned entirely.
For the remaining categories, the concept is simple: the higher the risk, the stricter the rules. High-risk systems include, for example, AI technologies that can be used in law enforcement, healthcare and critical infrastructure.
The AI Law applies to all AI companies (inside or outside the EU) doing business in the EU. Violations of the rules can result in fines of up to 7% of a company's global turnover.
In contrast, the UK is currently pursuing voluntary agreements on AI security with key companies and countries.
Make laws or not?
Critics expressed concerns about the AI law and feared that the strict rules could hinder innovation. European companies have also raised objections, warning that the EU could lose its competitiveness in this area.
But the United Kingdom could soon move away from its innovation-friendly laissez-faire strategy.
The government is starting to draft its own legislation on artificial intelligence, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. The regulation would most likely restrict the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) and require companies developing advanced AI to share their algorithms with the government.
Related concerns range from potential abuse to market manipulation.
“The key challenge we face is to harness this hugely exciting technology for the benefit of all, while protecting against potential exploitation of market power and unintended consequences,” said Sarah Cardell, CEO of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). ).
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