Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 12 March 2024 - Strasbourg

Artificial Intelligence Act (debate)

  Deirdre Clune, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, thank you, Commissioner, and thank you to our rapporteurs and all the teams that brought us to this point.

The final adoption of the Artificial Intelligence Act today is a historic moment. This landmark legislation is a significant step forward in our commitment to responsible digital leadership and creating an ethical future for artificial intelligence in Europe. It provides a robust regulatory framework, promoting trust and transparency in AI systems, establishing clear rules for deployment and for use and development. We are fostering accountability and responsibility across the sectors and along our value chains, and this ensures that AI technologies serve the best interests of our citizens. Crucially, this legislation upholds fundamental rights in the digital age, with strong requirements for fairness, accountability and non-discrimination. We safeguard against unfair biases and injustices that may arise from unchecked AI systems.

We can – and we will – unlock the potential of AI in healthcare, climate solutions and for economic productivity, but we also set clear guardrails, a ban on social scoring, discriminatory algorithms and manipulative techniques, and this ensures AI serves humanity and not the other way around. In addition, this act will encourage innovation and competitiveness by providing legal certainty and a level playing field, and we create an environment that is conducive to breakthroughs in AI technology, positioning Europe in this way at the forefront of global innovation.

So this is not the last post; the AI Act is the foundation. And now comes the crucial task of implementation and increasing international cooperation. And that is the establishment of the AI area. We welcome that, Commissioner, and we look forward to continuing our engagement with our international partners to ensure that we have a global response to artificial intelligence.