AI Regulation Is Coming, But Don't Panic Yet

In April 2018, as companies scrambled to come into compliance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation that was soon to become enforceable, the EU quietly announced its intention to craft another massive regulatory mandate-this time in the field of artificial intelligence. As with GDPR, the EU sees itself as having a duty to protect its citizens from what it perceives as "risky" technologies, whether deployed by governments or companies, that could infringe on the fundamental rights of its citizens.

Though the EU's efforts to develop rules around AI started with a whimper, the bang came in April 2021, when a proposed regulation was finally released. Tech insiders proclaimed the death of innovation-and industry groups and law firm blogs sounded the alarm that the proposed regulatory scheme would create a new, enormous and costly regulatory body to oversee these issues, further stifling innovation. On the other hand, regulators lamented that the