This week we wrote about the first parts of the EU AI Act becoming effective on Sunday. One of these was a ban on prohibited AI systems. These are AI practices that are deemed unacceptable due to their potential risks to European values and fundamental rights.
Yesterday, the European Commission published its Guidelines on Prohibited Artificial Intelligence (AI) Practices. They specifically address practices such as harmful manipulation, social scoring, and real-time remote biometric identification, amongst others.
It is important to note that the guidelines are in draft and subject to formal approval. Nevertheless they offer valuable insight and should be studied carefully by AI developers and users in the EU and beyond. This includes UK organisations due to the extra territorial nature of the EU AI Act.
Breach of the Prohibited AI Systems provisions of the EU AI Act carries a maximum fine of €35 million or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover (whichever is higher). However, the fining provisions do not come into force until 2nd August 2025.
Do you wish to keep abreast of AI developments? Do you need to sharpen your AI deployment skills? Join our forthcoming AI workshops Artificial Intelligence: How to Implement Good Information Governance and the EU AI Act and UK Approach to Regulation. We can also help with your AI literacy training programme through our in house customised training. Get in touch for a quote.
