AI Act to impact EU countries asymmetrically, Slovak expert says
To ensure effective implementation of the EU’s AI rules, member states without a rich AI ecosystem have used negotiations to try to mitigate the potential burden. Still, Slovakia sees opportunities for a comparative advantage if it succeeds in implementing them.
The AI Act is a flagship piece of EU legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence based on its potential to cause harm. However, the ground-breaking legislation emerges within the context of other new measures.
Although the AI Act has received the most attention, the final shape of the regulation will be defined by a complex of laws and initiatives of the EU, Juraj Čorba explained in an interview for EURACTIV Slovakia.
As a representative of the Slovak Ministry for Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation, Čorba has played a key role in representing the country in the negotiations on the EU AI regulation in the Committee for Artificial Intelligence of the Council of Europe and the OECD expert group.
Čorba has also been following a whole set of digital files, including the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Product Safety Regulations, the Product Liability Directive, as well as other data and financial services regulations – the Data Act, and recently approved regulations for crypto-assets.
“Although these are less publicly discussed in relation to AI, they are just as important as the AI Act itself,” the Slovak expert said. Therefore, national approaches to this complexity will be central to the EU´s success, Čorba explained.
The European Parliament is expected to adopt its position on the AI Act on 14 June, with both co-legislators committed to reaching a political agreement before the end of the year.
At the level of the EU Council of Ministers, Slovakia, as well as some other countries, has mainly focused on the field of biometric identification and the effort to define the General Purpose of AI, large language models that can be adapted to a variety of tasks.
However, according to Čorba, the key focus was on enforcement and ensuring high-quality public supervision structures that will be in charge of applying the entire legislation.
AI Act moves ahead in EU Parliament with key committee vote
The European Parliament’s leading parliamentary committees have green-lighted the AI Act in a vote on Thursday (11 May), paving the way for plenary adoption in mid-June.
The AI Act is a flagship legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence based on its potential …
Regulation as good as those implementing it
“If we are to find an equilibrium between, on the one hand, welcoming investments, being innovative, having a high-quality and transparent business environment for all those who will develop or use AI – and on the other hand, protecting people and companies from risks – then in practice, the success will depend on specific people,” the Slovak expert said.
According to him, the regulation will be “only as good as the people who will be in charge of it”.
Once the AI rulebook starts to bite, the staff of the national supervisory bodies will have the task of holding to account sophisticated and wealthy tech companies – there will be an unavoidable asymmetry in terms of resources and know-how.
For this reason, in negotiations, Slovakia focused on supporting the creation of elementary prerequisites for functioning public institutions at the European level.
Like several other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Slovakia is struggling with a substantial lack of qualified workforce. “There is a major battle for them in the private sector, not to mention the public sector,” Čorba emphasised.
The Slovak negotiator stressed that investments and entrepreneurs move where public authorities understand their type of business.
“If you correctly evaluate the intersection of models from data, through digital platforms, the Internet of Things, digital finance, to AI, this will be highly appreciated by companies that will want to work with us in the future.”
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The position of the EU Council on the flagship legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence was shared on Friday (8 November) with some final last-minute adjustments made by the Czech Presidency.
Regulatory frontrunners
For Čorba, the AI regulation will have very different effects across the bloc.
Slovakia, as a small country where the AI ecosystem is still just emerging, is trying to “keep the load as bearable as possible. We don’t want obstacles to be created, because of which our companies would have great difficulties,” he added.
According to the 2022 EU Digital Scoreboard, 5.1% of enterprises in Slovakia use AI technologies – the highest number among the Visegrad countries – against the Czech Republic at 4.4%, Hungary at 2.9% and Poland at 2.8%.
The country was only partially successful with the proposal to create mechanisms to negotiate and coordinate on the EU level and establish situational awareness capability.
In its December position, the Council proposed establishing a panel of independent experts at the EU level, with whom EU countries will be able to consult. The possibilities of cooperation between all concerned authorities have also been expanded.
According to Čorba, Slovakia could not only succeed in AI Act implementation, but it can even “gain a comparative advantage”.
“On the basis of European rules, we can create such a regulatory and institutional framework in which we will have the opportunity to excel. If we can develop a quality one and appeal to experienced people, then we can attract investments within the European or global market,” he concluded.