EU laws to rein in harmful AI applications in force next month

Bans on the use of artificial intelligence in social scoring, predictive policing, and untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage will kick in in six months once the new regulation enters into force

The new legislation will have an impact beyond EU countries, said Patrick van Eecke at law firm Cooley. Picture Denis Minihane.

Europe's landmark rules on artificial intelligence, or AI, will enter into force next month after EU countries endorsed a political deal reached in December, setting a potential global benchmark for a technology used in business and everyday life.

The European Union's AI Act is more comprehensive than the US's light-touch voluntary compliance approach while China's approach aims to maintain social stability and state control.