Since the beginning of 2024, European authorities have introduced or furthered several key initiatives and rules to facilitate innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), as part of its broader strategy to position the EU as a global leader in trustworthy AI. Such developments include the AI Innovation Package announced in January 2025, which included an investment package of ~EUR 4 billion through 2027 (specifically targeting generative AI development), and initiative on setting up of AI Factories. Additional developments include the entry into force of the AI Act, establishment of the European AI Office, draft AI Liability Directive, and publication of the draft of General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence Code of Practice. Moreover, in September this year, over a hundred companies signed EU AI Pact, pledging to drive trustworthy and safe AI development.
Below are the key highlights of the developments in this area for the month of November 2024:
EC consults on AI Act prohibitions and AI system definition. The AI Office of European Commission (EC) launched a consultation process on the future guidelines on the AI system definition and the implementation of AI practices that pose unacceptable risks under the AI Act. The AI Office invites stakeholders, including AI systems providers, businesses, national authorities, academia, research institutions, and civil society to submit their input until December 11, 2024. The guidelines are expected to be published in early 2025.
EC issues first draft of General-Purpose AI Code of Practice. This recently published first draft of AI Code of Practice is based on the contributions from a multi-stakeholder consultation organized by the AI Office as well as a dedicated workshop that brought together providers of general-purpose AI models. EC is gathering stakeholder feedback on the first draft before the Code is finalized. The finalized Code of Practice, which is to be published in May 2025, will facilitate the implementation of rules governing general-purpose AI models under the AI Act; these rules under the AI Act will come into application in August 2025. The Code covers details on transparency and enforcement of copyright-related rules for providers of general-purpose AI model as well as a taxonomy of systemic risks, risk assessment methodologies, and mitigation measures for providers of advanced general-purpose AI models that may pose systemic risks.
EC receives seven proposals for AI Factories. Post the September launch of a call for setting up AI Factories, EC has received seven proposals; these proposals are from Finland (together with the participation of Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Poland), Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, Italy (together with the participation of Austria and Slovenia), Spain (together with the participation of Portugal, Romania and Türkiye), and Greece. In addition, Cyprus and Slovenia submitted letters of interest to either join or create an AI Factory at a later stage. With this, the EU is now one step closer to setting up the first AI Factories in early 2025. The selection of the first AI Factories is expected to be announced in December 2024 while the next cut-off date for the subsequent proposals is February 01, 2025. AI Factories will help AI developers train their large generative AI models by using the network of European High-Performance Computing (EuroHPC) supercomputers and providing access to data, computing and storage services. The AI Factories initiative aims to establish one-stop shops for AI start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and scientific researchers. The AI Factories will provide streamlined access to a wide range of AI services, including essential tools, skills development, and user support.
Council approves conclusions on European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) report. In May 2024, ECA had published its special report to provide an in-depth assessment of the effectiveness of several EC actions between 2018 and 2023, including AI research and innovation support policies (2018-2022) and regulatory initiatives (2023). The European Council agreed with the ECA conclusion that the EU must scale up investments in AI, commercialize results of research and innovation projects, facilitate access to digital infrastructure, and foster cooperation and collaboration with member states and international organizations to be a globally competitive actor with a global impact. The Council also highlighted that the environmental impact of AI systems, high-performance computing, and possible solutions to increase energy efficiency, as well as securing a reliable hardware supply chain, are important factors, which should be also taken into account in AI policies.
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