The EU AI act is comprehensive in terms of its scope. It's a comprehensive act, so it applies to the public sector, the third sector and the private sector. It's a product-safety statute, so it doesn't give individuals any rights. What it does require is that companies categorize the AI system they are procuring or developing. It has to be slotted into one of the risks. There is prohibited AI, high-risk AI and low-risk AI, and it's up to the company to determine the risk they're creating for others. Then, according to that risk.... Due diligence, accountability, transparency and oversight are tied to the level of risk.
To give you an example, there is a group of prohibited AI uses. One of them is live facial recognition technology used by police in public spaces. The EU has already decided that's prohibited. There are many low-risk.... Chatbots, for example, may be considered a low AI or algorithmic risk.
What companies and governments need to do is prove they have a comprehensive AI data governance program in place and an inventory of all AI systems in use, and then stand ready to demonstrate this to AI regulators across the EU.
What the EU has is first-mover advantage, in terms of a comprehensive AI law. That's what it has. This doesn't mean the rest of the world is going to copy and paste their approach. That said, any company outside the EU that is directing services to citizens and organizations in the EU will be subject to the EU law. That means the world is paying attention to what the EU is doing, in the same way they did with the GDPR. There is first-mover advantage there.
I think what the U.S. is doing is extremely interesting. It's difficult to get anything through Congress these days. We know that. Instead, there is an executive order on AI, which requires all government agencies—the supply chains and procurement in every single agency, be it Health and Human Services or the Department of Defense—to comply with AI principles. They also have to stand ready to demonstrate that they are being responsible. I think that is going to be hugely influential but quite different from the approach the EU is taking.