EU AI Act one step closer

February 7, 2024

On Friday 2 February, the ambassadors of the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) unanimously approved the AI Act.

This follows a political agreement in December 2023: see here.

There is information about the status of the AI Act and next steps here.

They include:

  • 13 Feb: the European Parliament’s Committees vote
  • 21 Feb: European Commission  Decision to establish EU’s AI Office comes into force
  • 10/11 April: European Parliament’s plenary vote provisionally scheduled
  • Formal adoption at ministerial level

There are staged introductions of various measures once the AI Act is adopted.

The Australian government is taking a risk-based approach to AI regulation (see here), which is also the approach in the AI Act, but it is proposing a whole-of-government approach coordinating portfolios with relevant responsibilities (including Industry, Communications and Attorney General) rather than a centralised agency.