European Union: Passed AI Act including design requirement for "high-risk AI systems" by EU Parliament

On 13 March 2024, the European Parliament passed the regulation laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act). The Act includes design requirements for "high-risk AI systems" as part of a wider requirement for a risk management system (Art. 9). Specifically, identified risks should, as far as possible, through the implementation of technical measures during the design and technical process, be either eliminated or mitigated and controlled. Further, high-risk AI systems should be designed such that they can be used transparently, with a sufficient level of human oversight, and with the capacity to automatically record their use. The Act requires AI providers to generate synthetic content that must ensure outputs are machine-readable and marked as artificial. The marking must be effective, interoperable, and technically feasible, considering content type, costs, and technical standards. The Act includes exemptions for minor edits, assistive functions, or lawful criminal investigations. The Act now goes to the Council for the final vote.