The European Parliament has passed its long-awaited AI Act, making them the first comprehensive set of laws from a major regulator on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the world. When the act is officially confirmed as law, it will regulate AI technology use in the 27 nations of the EU.
The legislation will also regulate global entities who operate in the EU, which means Canadian companies with large workforces should take note of this — along with upcoming Canadian AI legislation, says Kirsten Thompson, partner and head of privacy and cybersecurity at Dentons.
“The act has extraterritorial scope and will apply to certain organizations operating in the EU or providing AI system products or services to users in the EU, even if the organization is based outside the EU. The territorial scope is much broader than under the GDPR,” said Thompson, citing the General Data Protection Regulation.