On Dec. 8, 2023, after lengthy and intense negotiations,
European legislators reached a political agreement on the EU
Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). The EU Parliament formally
adopted its position during its plenary session of March 13, 2024,
and after legal-linguistic finalization and formal adoption by the
EU Council, the AI Act is expected to be published in the Official
Journal of the EU before the end of Q2, 2024.
Initially proposed by the European Commission in April 2021, the
AI Act positions the EU as a trailblazer in regulating artificial
intelligence, as it is the first significant, all-encompassing
regulation in the world focused on the development and use of AI.
It establishes a uniform legal framework across the EU, with the
explicit goals of ensuring that AI used in the European market is
legal, safe, and trustworthy. Given its extraterritorial scope of
application, certain rules will extend beyond the EU's borders
and have, thus, a global impact.