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EU's AI Code ready for companies to sign next week
Member states' formal approval of the Code of Practice for General Purpose AI (GPAI) could come as early as 22 July, paving the way for providers of AI systems to sign up, sources familiar with the matter told Euronews.
It will be just days before the entry into force of the AI Act's provisions affecting GPAI systems, on 2 August.
The European Commission last week presented the Code, a voluntary set of rules drafted by experts appointed by the EU executive, aiming to help providers of AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini comply with the AI Act. Companies that sign up are expected to be compliant with the AI Act and are expected to have more legal certainty, others will face more inspections.
The Code requires a sign off by EU member states, which are represented in a subgroup of the AI Board, as well as by the Commission's own AI Office.
The 27 EU countries are expected to finalise assessment of the Code next week and if the Commission also completes its assessment by then too, the providers can formally sign up.
The document, which was supposed to come out in May, faced delays and heavy criticism. Tech giants as well as publishers and rights-holders are concerned that the rules violate the EU's Copyright laws, and restrict innovation.
The EU's AI Act, that regulates AI systems according to the risk they pose to society and is coming into force in stages beginning in August last year.
Mixed reactions
In the meantime, OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, has said it will sign up to the code once its ready.
'The Code of Practice opens the door for Europe to move forward with the EU AI Continent Action Plan that was announced in April—and to build on the impact of AI that is already felt today,' the statement said.
The publication drew mixed reactions, with consumer group BEUC and Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) hesitant about the final version of the code.
BEUC Senior Legal Officer, Cláudio Teixeira called the development a 'step in the right direction', but underlined that voluntary initiatives like the Code of Practice 'can be no substitute for binding EU legislation: they must complement and reinforce, not dilute, the law's core protections for consumers.'
CDT Europe's Laura Lazaro Cabrera said the final draft 'stops short of requiring their in-depth assessment and mitigation in all cases.'
'The incentive for providers to robustly identify these risks will only be as strong as the AI Office's commitment to enforce a comprehensive, good-faith approach,' she said.
