Commission collects over 100 AI Pact signatures, but future remains uncertain

Over 100 organisations have signed the European Commission’s artificial intelligence (AI) Pact, voluntary commitments that pave the way for compliance with the AI Act, but its significance has waned.

Though it has been one year in the making, in the past month interest in signing the AI Pact has increased, after the commitments were loosened. However, its future is uncertain, since Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton’s resignation.

Roughly 1,000 companies have expressed interest in joining the AI Pact, including both Pillar I, a peer-to-peer network for exchanging best practices, and Pillar II, a series of pledges. That is an increase for the 700 who signed in early August.

“The AI Pact will help bridge the transitional period between the entry into force of the Regulation [AI Act] which happened on 1 August, and the entry into application of the provisions,” a spokesperson for the Commission told Euractiv in August.

Earlier this year, the Pact was purported as a means to comply with the AI Act’s provisions earlier than is mandatory, but in its latest version, it is more about exchanging information and figuring out how to comply, said a spokesperson from Digital Europe, a trade organisation for digital companies.

Breton’s absence

The Pact was a “pet project” dor Breton, so following his departure, its importance has waned in the eyes of companies, said one person involved in the negotiations. Three other sources involved confirmed that the Pact was politically important for the former Commissioner.

The Frenchman’s sudden resignation affected the process, postponing a planned meeting between the former Commissioner and high-profile CEOs, according to two people involved in the process.

A signing ceremony is taking place today (25 September), multiple sources told Euractiv. It was touted by the Commission as an opportunity for stakeholders to meet Breton. It was expected he would maintain responsibility for AI in the next Commission, said a person involved in the process.

Some doubts were raised as to whether the Pact would be prioritised by the new Commission. One source told Euractiv: “We more or less expect that the AI Pact will gradually fade away over the next few months.”

It had been deprioritised before Breton’s resignation, given the sheer amount of work the Commission’s AI Office has to do, another source said.

Change in tune

Some Big Tech firms are expected to be among the 100 signatories, following some key changes to the document earlier this month, but not all of them.

“We welcome harmonised EU rules and are focusing on our compliance work under the AI Act at this time, but we do not rule out our joining the AI Pact at a later stage,” a spokesperson for Meta told Euractiv.

Companies have been reluctant to sign as they were concerned that the pact could become “too much of a prescriptive exercise,” which could also take energy away from ongoing compliance work with the AI Act, said one person familiar with the process.

The firms were also wondering whether signing the AI Pact might have consequences for their compliance, that person added.

There is a multitude of pacts, codes, and guidelines on AI, that have been agreed upon internationally, so when it comes to Europe, the current focus is on compliance with the AI Act, said another source from a Big Tech firm.

The timeline

Some of the industry feedback was taken on board in the latest draft of the Pact, which was circulated earlier this month. In this draft, signatories are committing themselves “to the extent feasible” to the various aims.

An earlier draft was circulated in July, and the Commission has been engaging with the private sector for the past year.

Firms could express their intention to sign by 11 September, although the Pact is still open to signatories.

The Pact includes three core commitments and a longer list of voluntary commitments. About half of the signatories have only signed on to the core commitments, said a Commission official who declined to be identified discussing information that isn’t public yet.

After 12 months the signatories have to report on the outcome of the implementation of their commitments, although it is unclear exactly what this reporting will involve, one person said.