Future Technologies & Artificial Intelligence
European AI Act
AI is essential for Europe’s digital transformation and digital sovereignty. We want to ensure that the Artificial Intelligence Act strengthens innovation and supports the digital frontrunners: SMEs and start-ups that develop and deploy AI solutions. Let’s make the AI Act the best regulatory framework available for an innovative, trustworthy and responsible AI ecosystem!
Scroll down for more information on the open letter.
Support the movement
Europe needs to get it right and put competitiveness and innovation at the heart of the AI Act. The Artificial Intelligence Act holds the potential to turn Europe into a global leader in AI. We urge you to ensure that the AI Act fosters innovation and competitiveness by providing a level-playing field and implementing a forward-looking and sustainable regulatory and governance framework that keeps in mind Europe’s digital sovereignty.
With this Open Letter, we ask for improvements to the AI Act to foster AI Innovation and Competitiveness:
- Providing guidance & support to SMEs: The AI Act is complex. SMEs don’t have access to teams of in-house lawyers that can guide them through the document. A provision on the necessity for authorities to provide guidance and interpretation can help tackle these uncertainties.
- Making sandboxes mandatory & making them work for SMEs: Sandboxes should be mandatory, and a sandboxing programme can help provide minimum standards across the EU in terms of the support that will be provided.
- Ensuring SMEs are included in the standards-setting: We strongly advise that standards should be written with the active participation of SMEs (ensuring an inclusive approach), and to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
4. Adapting fines to small-scale AI developers and providers: Infringement fines should be adapted to match the realities of SMEs.
5. Supporting SMEs & Innovation in the AI Board: The scope of the European Artificial Intelligence Board needs to include innovation-monitoring as a key component, beyond compliance-monitoring.
6. Balancing obligations: Some of the changes to the AI Act in the course of its discussion reflect an effort to push responsibility from the large technology developers to the smaller providers and users. Obligations need to be fair & balanced.
7. Moving towards true digital sovereignty: AI and its diffusion will only be possible with sufficient investment in infrastructure to decrease dependency of the Europe on foreign technology and move towards true digital sovereignty.
The deadline to sign the letter has passed. Thank you for the support! These companies and business associations have signed the open letter. Click here to see the full list.
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