Europe leading the race to regulate AI. How will the rules work?

EU lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to changes in draft artificial intelligence rules proposed by the European Commission in a bid to set a global standard.

Authorities worldwide are racing to rein in artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where groundbreaking legislation passed a key hurdle Wednesday.

EU lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to changes in draft artificial intelligence rules proposed by the European Commission in a bid to set a global standard for a technology used in everything from automated factories to bots such as ChatGPT.

The lawmakers will now have to thrash out details with European Union countries before the draft rules become legislation.

A yearslong effort by Brussels to draw up guardrails for AI has taken on more urgency as rapid advances in chatbots like ChatGPT show the benefits the emerging technology can bring – and the new perils it poses.

Here’s a look at the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act:

The measure, first proposed in 2021, will govern any product or service that uses an artificial intelligence system. The act will classify AI systems according to four levels of risk, from minimal to unacceptable.

Riskier applications, such as for hiring or tech targeted to children, will face tougher requirements, including being more transparent and using accurate data.

Violations will draw fines of up to 30 million euros ($33 million) or 6% of a company’s annual global revenue, which in the case of tech companies like Google and Microsoft could amount to billions.