AI update – EU AI Act published and King's Speech delivered

EU

We mentioned in our previous blog back in May on the EU AI Act, that once it had been published in the EU's Official Journal, it would enter into force 20 days after the publication. We can now confirm that on 12 July 2024, the AI Act was published in the Official Journal which means that it will come into force on 1 August 2024.

Most of the provisions only apply from 2 August 2026, two years after entry into force, but some start to apply in six months, as early as next February 2025. These latter provisions are:

• Prohibited AI practices (i.e. unacceptable AI practices) are banned from 2 February 2025
• Some penalties (for non-compliance) apply from 2 August 2025 (not penalties applicable to providers of General Purpose AI (GPAI) models e.g. generative models such as ChatGPT)
• Rules on GPAI models (e.g. on transparency), apply from 2 August 2025

For further information on the EU AI Act and its provisions, see our previous blog: BREAKING NEWS! EU Artificial Intelligence Act clears the last hurdle | Fieldfisher.

UK

On 17 July 2024 during the State Opening of Parliament, King Charles III delivered his second speech as King, setting out the government's legislative plans for the next parliamentary session. The speech only referred to artificial intelligence three times but it did acknowledge the importance of AI in the UK and vowed to 'harness the power' of AI.

While it did not address in any detail the Labour party's manifesto pledges on AI, such as establishing a new regulatory innovation office (designed to improve accountability and encourage cross-sector innovation), nor did it list an AI bill, it did confirm that it would 'seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models'. So this is really the first confirmation we have had on potential UK AI legislation.

Comment

Whether any new legislation will mirror the private members' UK AI regulation bill that was making its way through Parliament before it was dissolved ahead of the General Election, (see our previous blog on this here: UK AI (Regulation) Bill scrapped for now but hopes of a resurrection with new government) or whether legislators will look to the new EU AI Act for inspiration and guidance, we do not know. In any case, it seems that the UK has realised that to achieve its goal of being a global AI superpower, legislation is the way forward.

It will be interesting to see how the new Labour government addresses the conflict between protecting IP rights at the same time as allowing AI development. Labour did dedicate part of its 'Plan for the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries' to promising that it would find the right balance between 'fostering innovation and ensuring protection for creators'. Labour also made it clear that it will support, maintain and promote the UK's strong copyright regime. Would Labour consider resurrecting the previous government's plans for a new TDM exception and/or voluntary code of practice for copyright, both of which were abandoned? Whatever the Labour party ends up doing, it has pledged to engage and consult with the creative industries and with the companies driving AI development, and we can only hope that these are more fruitful than they have been in the past.

There is no doubt that there is still a lot of work to be done in both the EU and the UK to ensure that we keep up with the technological advances in AI in the most effective and safest way possible. We will update you on any further AI news.