EU’s Vestager Says They Will Have A Draft Voluntary AI Code This Month

On Wednesday, Margrethe Vestager, the EU tech chief, stated that a draft code of conduct on artificial intelligence (AI) could be created within a few weeks. This will enable the industry to agree to a final proposal in the near future.

According to Reuters, policymakers and industry experts have expressed concern about the risks associated with AI, especially content-generating generative AI like ChatGPT, comparing it to the threats posed by pandemics or nuclear war.

Vestager suggested that a voluntary code be established by the United States and European Union to offer protections as new laws are being developed.

“Generative AI is a complete game-changer,” Vestager, who is a vice president of the European Commission, told a news conference on Wednesday after a meeting of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

“Everyone knows this is the next powerful thing. So within the next weeks we will advance a draft of an AI code of conduct,” she said, adding she hoped there would be a final proposal “very, very soon” that industry could sign up to.

Read more: Regulating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

In a follow-up tweet, she suggested incorporating measures such as watermarking and external audits into the code.

The legislative process for the European Union’s AI Act, which includes regulations on facial recognition and biometric surveillance, is still ongoing.

“In the best of cases it will take effect in two and a half to three years time. That is obviously way too late,” Vestager told reporters before the meeting of the TTC in Sweden. “We need to act now.”

The TTC closing statement said the two partners had created expert groups focusing on terms required to assess AI risks, cooperation on AI standards and monitoring existing and emerging risks.