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ARTICLE · 07 MAY 2021

The European Union Proposes New Legal Framework For Artificial Intelligence

Mayer Brown
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On 21 April 2021, the European Commission proposed a new, transformative legal framework to govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the European Union.

European UnionTechnology
Oliver Yaros
Oliver Yaros
Ana Hadnes Bruder
Ana Hadnes Bruder
Ondrej Hajda
Ondrej Hajda
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On 21 April 2021, the European Commission proposed a new, transformative legal framework to govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the European Union. The proposal adopts a risk-based approach whereby the uses of artificial intelligence are categorised and restricted according to whether they pose an unacceptable, high, or low risk to human safety and fundamental rights. The policy is widely considered to be one of the first of its kind in the world which would, if passed, have profound and far-reaching consequences for organisations that develop or use technologies incorporating artificial intelligence.

Background

The European Commission's proposal has been in the making since 2017, when EU legislators enacted a resolution and a report with recommendations to the Commission on Civil Law Rules on Robotics. In 2020, the European Commission published a white paper on artificial intelligence. Last October, the European Parliament issued a resolution with

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