By: Gabriel Dos Reis Estivalet (Solteq)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long won the argument about its benefits and its importance for modern-day operations. It can be applied to all sorts of problems, and it has proven to be very good in discovering underlying patterns in data, something that can be difficult for humans. For that matter, it has become ubiquitous nowadays in companies, who rely on it to make their businesses more efficient and to better serve their customers.
However, the unchecked use of AI can present some dangers and unintended societal consequences, ranging from discriminatory behavior towards certain groups of individuals (see here), to high-impact scandals that had a catastrophic financial impact on people and lead the government to resign (see here).
In order to mitigate AI’s inherent risks, the European Union has launched a new initiative to regulate the area. Its risk-based approach aims to increase trust, transparency, and accountability in the use of AI algorithms, ensuring that they are fair and that they meet certain requirements before being put into service. Some key elements of the draft legislation are discussed below.
What does it mean for businesses using AI systems?
The EU’s first-ever framework on artificial intelligence will make accountable not only the developers of such systems, but also the companies using them. Human oversight, transparency, data quality, risk management, and ongoing monitoring are only a few of the requirements that might be needed for an AI system to be put in operation. It is the risk level of the potential application that will determine the specific requirements it needs to meet…
