Companies should start preparing for the European Union’s (EU) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, expected to be passed later this year, said a top official from the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure (RDI) on Thursday.
RDI Inspector General Angeline van Dijk made the call as she delivered a speech on “A European Approach to Artificial Intelligence,” at the 2023 World Summit AI (WSAI), an annual event launched in 2017 for tech leaders to discuss the latest global AI developments. The theme of this year’s WSAI is “AI on the Brink: Shaping the Future of Humanity.”
Van Dijk provided insights into the expected timeline for the AI Act, the EU’s first legislative framework on AI development and deployment across Europe.
“From a market perspective, understanding the timeline of the AI Act is crucial for strategic planning,” she said.
Under Spain’s leadership, the final text of the AI Act should be established this year, with ratification anticipated by the following spring. However, the act’s standards are expected to be implemented around 2025, and full enforcement may not happen until 2026 or 2027.
“The AI Act is a significant step of providing a blueprint for responsible AI development and deployment across Europe,” van Dijk said.
In her speech, she announced a joint initiative on AI supervision by the European Commission, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the Netherlands.
“Our joint initiative aims not only to enhance AI’s supervisory capabilities, (but) also to support all European AI oversight bodies. And together our goal is to ensure responsible AI development and deployment across Europe,” she said.
The AI Act, van Dijk explained, takes a risk-based approach, strongly regulating high-risk AI practices while affording more flexibility to less risky applications.
She underlined that companies should start preparing for the AI Act immediately, as the building of an AI ecosystem requires support from all sectors, including governments, scientists, and private industry.
She also emphasized the need for leaders to understand and engage with AI, in order to make more informed decisions about its applications and implications.
