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Exclusive: How to govern the unknown – a Q&A with MEP Eva Maydell
The European Parliament passed the Artificial Intelligence Act on March 13, becoming the world’s first major government to pass comprehensive regulations for the emerging technology. This capped a five-year effort to manage AI and its potential to disrupt every industry and cause geopolitical tensions.
The AI Act, which takes effect later this year, places basic transparency requirements on generative AI models such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, mandating that their makers share some information about how they are trained. There are more stringent rules for more powerful models or ones that will be used in sensitive sectors, such as law enforcement or critical infrastructure. Like with the EU’s data privacy law, there are steep penalties for companies that violate the new AI legislation – up to 7% of their annual global revenue.
GZERO spoke with Eva Maydell, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament on the Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy, who negotiated the details of the AI Act. We asked her about the imprint Europe is leaving on global AI regulation.
GZERO: What drove you to spearhead work on AI in the European Parliament?
MEP Eva Maydell: It’s vital that we not only tackle the challenges and opportunities of today but those of tomorrow. That way, we can ensure that Europe is its most resilient and prepared. One of the most interesting and challenging aspects of being a politician that works on tech policy is trying to reach the right balance between enabling innovation and competitiveness with ensuring we have the right protections and safeguards in place. Artificial intelligence has the potential to change the world we live in, and having the opportunity to work on such an impactful piece of law was a privilege and a responsibility.
How do you think the AI Act balances regulation with innovation? Can Europe become a standard-setter for the AI industry while also encouraging development and progress within its borders?
Maydell: I fought very hard to ensure that innovation remained a strong feature of the AI Act. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We must acknowledge that Europe has some catching up to do. AI take-up by European companies is 11%. Europeans rely on foreign countries for 80% of digital products and services. We also have to tackle inflation and stagnating growth. AI has the potential to be the engine for innovation, creativity, and prosperity, but only if we ensure that we keep working on all the other important pieces of the puzzle, such as a strong single market and greater access to capital.
The pace of AI is evolving rapidly. Does the AI Act set Europe up to be responsive to unforeseen advancements in technology?
Maydell: One of the most difficult aspects of regulating technology is trying to regulate the unknown. However, this is why it’s essential to stick to principles rather than over-prescription wherever possible - for example, a risk-based approach, and where possible aligning with international standards. This allows you the ability to adapt. It is also why the success of the AI Office and AI Forum will be so important. The guidance that we offer businesses and organizations in the coming months on how to implement the AI Act, will be key to its long-term success. Beyond the pages of the AI Act, we need to think about technological foresight. This is why I launched an initiative at the 60th annual Munich Security Conference – the “Council on the Future.” It aims to bridge the foresight and collaboration gap between the public and private sector with a view toward enabling the thoughtful stewardship of technology.
Europe is the first mover on AI regulation. How would you like to see the rest of the world follow suit and pass their own laws? How can Europe be an example to other countries?
Maydell: I hope we’re an example to others in the sense that we have tried to take a responsible approach to the development of AI. We are already seeing nations around the world take important steps towards shaping their own governance structures for AI. We have the Executive Order in the US and the UK had the AI Safety Summit. It is vital that like-minded nations are working together to ensure that there is broader coherence around the values associated with the development and use of our technologies. Deeper collaboration through the G7, the UN, and the OECD is something we must continue to pursue.
Is there anything the AI Act doesn't do that you'd like to turn your attention to next?
Maydell: The AI Act is not a silver bullet, but it is an important piece of a much bigger puzzle. We have adopted an unprecedented amount of digital legislation in the last five years. With these strong regulatory foundations in place, my hope is that we now focus on perhaps the less newsworthy but equally important issue of good implementation. This means cutting red tape, reducing existing excess bureaucracy, and removing any frictions or barriers between different EU laws in the digital space. The more clarity and certainty we can offer companies, the more likely it is that Europe will attract inward investment and be the birthplace of some of the biggest names in global tech.AI vs. truth: Battling deepfakes amid 2024 elections
With nearly half of the globe heading to the polls this year amid lightning-speed developments in generative AI, fears are running rampant over tech-driven disinformation campaigns.
During a Global Stage panel at the Munich Security Conference, Bulgarian politician and European Parliament member Eva Maydell said she fears we will soon be unable to separate fact from deepfake fiction.
While acknowledging the important developments AI and emerging tech offer, Maydell warned that we also “need to be very sober” about how they are threatening the “very fabric of our democratic societies” and eroding trust.
While the EU is trying to push voluntary measures and legislative proposals, Maydell points out that political conversations often revolve around the sense that “we'll probably never be as good as those that are trying to deceive society.”
“But you still have to give it a try, and you need to do it in a very prepared way,” she adds.
Watch the full conversation: How to protect elections in the age of AI
Watch more Global Stage coverage on the 2024 Munich Security Conference.
- How to protect elections in the age of AI ›
- How AI and deepfakes are being used for malicious reasons ›
- Deepfakes on are on the campaign trail too ›
- Taylor Swift AI images & the rise of the deepfakes problem ›
- Deepfakes are ‘fraud,’ says Microsoft's Brad Smith ›
- Combating AI deepfakes in elections through a new tech accord ›
Populism and partition? Europe's bleak forecast for the year ahead
GZERO’s Tony Maciulis joins Mujtaba Rahman, Eurasia Group's Managing Director for Europe, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss the pressing political and economic situation in Europe. Rahman looks ahead to the EU Parliament's upcoming elections, highlighting concerns over populist party performance. “[Populists] will certainly be better represented” Rahman tells Maciulis, “but that being said, the impacts on policy will be marginal at best.”
Rahman also delves into Europe’s economic challenges, citing bleak growth forecasts and Germany's fiscal constraints. “The overall picture is an economy really in the doldrums, not performing…basically flat." Discussing Ukraine, Rahman underscores the risk of partition and stresses the importance of Western integration for Ukraine's ultimate failure or success against Russia. Rahman also raises concerns over the potential impact of a Trump presidency on transatlantic relations. “Is Trump signaling an invitation to Russia and others to probe and to test? That's really where the concern lies."
Join Ian Bremmer and a panel of experts this Saturday, February 17, at 12 pm ET/9 am PT/6 pm CET for our Global Stage discussion at the Munich Security Conference: Protecting Elections in the Ageof AI.
Keep up with GZERO's Global Stage coverage of MSC 2024 for more.
Brussels bows to farmers on green goals
On Tuesday, the European Commission scrapped a plan to limit pesticide use and excluded agriculture from its roadmap to cut greenhouse gasses as the ruling coalition attempts to quell bloc-wide protests by farmers.
The concessions follow pledges last week to reduce the burden of environmental policy on farmers after protests erupted in France, Belgium, Germany, and other countries last month. Farmers say they can’t get a decent price for their produce thanks to strict environmental regulations, competition from cheap Ukrainian imports, and insufficient government support.
The EU did limit Ukrainian imports last week and loosened rules on how much land farmers have to leave fallow, but no dice. The protests only grew with farmers in Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, and Greece all turning out on Monday and Tuesday.
Why is Brussels being flexible? European parliamentary elections are looming in June, and the ruling centrist coalition is sweating the populist surge on the continent.
Knowing they need to keep farmers on their side to retain power, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged last week to rethink a series of climate-related laws.AI's potential to impact election is cause for concern - EU's Eva Maydell
EU Parliamentarian Eva Maydell says AI's potential impact on the world's biggest year of elections keeps her up at night. And it's a valid worry—AI's ability to create and disseminate deceptive content at lightning speed means our society can be divided and radicalized faster than ever.
Speaking in a GZERO Global Stage discussion from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, EU Parliamentarian Evan Maydell shares her concerns about the weaponization of AI and other emerging technologies in such a massive global election year.
“I'm worried about deceptive content that can be created faster, can be disseminated faster, and it can divide, and it can radicalize our society,” she said.
The conversation was part of the Global Stage series, produced by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft. These discussions convene heads of state, business leaders, technology experts from around the world for critical debate about the geopolitical and technology trends shaping our world.
Watch the full conversation here: How is the world tackling AI, Davos' hottest topic?
EU AI regulation efforts hit a snag
Europe has spent two years trying to adopt comprehensive AI regulation. The AI Act, first introduced by the European Commission in 2021, aspires to regulate AI models based on different risk categories.
The proposed law would ban dangerous models outright, such as those that might manipulate humans, and mandate strict oversight and transparency for powerful models that carry the risk of harm. For lower-risk models, the AI Act would require simple disclosures. In May, the European Parliament approved the legislation, but the three bodies of the European legislature are still in the middle of hammering out the final text. The makers of generative AI models, like the one powering ChatGPT, would have to submit to safety checks and publish summaries of the copyrighted material they’re trained on.
Bump in the road: Last week, France, Germany, and Italy dealt the AI Act a setback by reaching an agreement that supports “mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct" for AI developers building so-called foundation models. These are the models that are trained on massive sets of data and can be used for a wide range of applications, including OpenAI’s GPT-4, the large language model that powers ChatGPT. This surprise deal represents a desire to bolster European AI firms at the expense of the effort to hold them legally accountable for their products.
The view of these countries, three of the most powerful in the EU, is that the application of AI should be regulated, not the technology itself, which is a departure from the EU’s existing plan to regulate foundation models. While the tri-country proposal would require developers to publish information about safety tests, it doesn’t demand penalties for withholding that information — though it suggests that sanctions could be introduced.
A group of tech companies, including Apple, Ericson, Google, and SAP signed a letter backing the proposal: “Let's not regulate [AI] out of existence before they get a chance to scale, or force them to leave," the group wrote.
But it angered European lawmakers who favor the AI Act. “This is a declaration of war," one member of the European Parliament told Politico, which suggested that this “power grab” could even end progress on the AI Act altogether. A fifth round of European trilogue discussions is set for Dec. 6, 2023.
EU regulators have grown hungry to regulate AI, a counter to the more laissez-faire approach of the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose recent Bletchley Declaration, signed by countries including the US and China, was widely considered nonbinding and light-touch. Now, the three largest economies in Europe, France, Germany, and Italy, have brought that thinking to EU negotiations — and they need to be appeased. Europe’s Big Three not only carry political weight but can form a blocking minority in the Council of Europe if there’s a vote, says Nick Reiners, senior geotechnology analyst at Eurasia Group.
Reiners says this thrown-wrench by the three makes it unlikely that the AI Act’s text will be agreed upon by the original target date of Dec. 6. But there is still strong political will on both sides, he says, to reach a compromise before next June’s European Parliament elections.
Ukraine-EU farm export dispute: Are there any consequences?
Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics - this week from the airport in Madrid.
What are the consequence of the dispute now between Ukraine and the European Union on farm exports?
It is not really a dispute with the European Union because the commission has said that farm exports are okay. But then suddenly Poland has an election, and Slovakia which has election and Hungary, which has own policy, said, “No, no, we don't allow these particular grain exports from Ukraine because our farmers don't like it.” That runs totally contrary to the common trade policy that the European Union is running, runs totally contrary to the solidarity with Ukraine and support to Ukraine that we have all agreed on. So yeah, we'll see what happens. It’s a serious question.
What's the issue of using Catalan language in the European Parliament and the European Union as well?
Well, this is part of the efforts here in Spain to set up the new government. I mean, the socialists who have a very, very difficult position on negotiating with the Catalan separatists and the Catalan separatists, among other demands, are demanding that both Catalan and the Galician and Basque language should be official languages in the European Union. This brings up a huge number of issues, apart from making the European Union even more of a Tower of Babel than it is at the moment. The cost of translating every single speech, every single document, every single thing into the three languages brings immense costs, immense complexity. So expect the other European governments to say, “Hmm, we've listened to the demand. Let's ask the lawyers. Let's have a working group and let's do nothing.”
When Russia is your neighbor: Estonian PM Kaja Kallas' frontline POV
Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, knows firsthand the dangers that come with being a frontline state on the Russian border. In 2007, her country was hit by Russian cyber attacks that crippled banks, media outlets, and government institutions for weeks. But being on the receiving end of this new kind of modern warfare has also made the country more resilient. In the years since Estonia has invested a lot in cyber security and can better monitor bad actors seeking to divide their society with digital warfare.
GZERO World traveled to the Munich Security Conference to speak with western leaders on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. One of the biggest challenges within NATO is maintaining cohesion and staying united in support of Ukraine. Kallas acknowledges their internal divisions about how far the alliance is willing to go and says Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a lot different than the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. She even mentions one anonymous European leader who wants to be on the right side of history in supporting Kyiv, even though public opinion is against it. Any guesses as to who that might be?
Catch Ian Bremmer's full interview with Kallas in this week's episode of "GZERO World with Ian Bremmer," airing on public television stations in the US. Check local listings