Observed Signal · Apr 20, 2023 · Regulation · Source: Trending Topics · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Negative
EU AI Act Vote Delayed; Austrian Official Criticizes Slow Talks
The European Union's AI Act, under discussion since 2021, has hit another delay. A key parliamentary vote originally scheduled for April 26 was postponed to May, further slowing the legislative process. Austrian State Secretary for Digitalization Florian Tursky criticized the lack of progress and urged EU institutions to prioritize the regulation. The surge of large language models such as ChatGPT has intensified debates, including proposals to require AI providers to disclose training data sources. A necessary committee meeting was also postponed due to unresolved disputes, pushing back the start of trilogue negotiations. Tursky warned that China's plan to regulate AI according to ideological standards is dangerous for democracy, and he called for swift European action. The draft AI Act would introduce risk-based categories, banning unacceptable-risk systems such as social scoring and imposing strict requirements on high-risk applications.
The EU AI Act is a landmark regulatory framework for AI systems; delays in the parliamentary vote and trilogue negotiations shift the timeline for compliance and impact AI-based advertising and data processing in Europe.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The EU AI Act vote was postponed from April 26 to May 2023.
- Austrian State Secretary Florian Tursky criticized the slow pace of AI Act negotiations.
- A required EU Parliament committee session was postponed, delaying the start of trilogue negotiations.
- Tursky sent a letter to the EU Commission and Parliament urging high-priority treatment of the AI Act.
- The AI Act would prohibit AI systems posing unacceptable risks, such as China's social scoring system.
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