AI Act: our 4 recommendations to member states

Numeum and 28 other national organizations support the objectives of the AI Act and focus on high-risk use cases. AI will drive innovation in the years to come. Estimates predict that by 2035, half of the growth in many European countries could be due to AI.To take full advantage of AI, we need to focus on creating a Europe where innovative businesses can thrive.

To ensure the adoption of AI, trust in the technology is essential: the AI Act has a role to play in helping companies bring trusted AI solutions to market. The AI Act is a complex legislative proposal, creating a new framework at the intersection of traditional ICT product compliance and fundamental rights protection. Implementation will be difficult: companies and market surveillance authorities will be navigating uncharted waters. Some estimates show that, for an SME with 50 employees, bringing a single AI-enabled product to market could entail compliance costs well in excess of 300,000 euros.

The work undertaken by the Council of the EU under the Slovenian, French and Czech presidencies has helped to increase legal certainty for businesses. However, some challenges remain.

While the Member States have adopted their general approach, we encourage the Council, in the context of the forthcoming trialogue negotiations, to consider the following points:

• Regulatory sandboxes are essential to ensure proportionate obligations and smooth implementation. We recommend pre-regulatory sandboxes to test the effects of the law on businesses, and post-regulatory sandboxes to help businesses prepare for compliance. Member States should commit to setting up such sandboxes.

• It is essential to ensure that responsibilities are allocatedto the right players in the AI value chain. The AI Liability Directive will build on the allocation of obligations set out in the AI Act. The latter needs to be refined, particularly in light of recent developments in general-purpose AI. The AI Act should, where appropriate, offer additional flexibility by guaranteeing the freedom of the parties to allocate liabilities through contractual obligations.

• Consistency must be ensured between different pieces of legislation. The AI Acta always runs the risk of conflicting with existing legislation (e.g. regulations on machinery or medical devices). Ensuring alignment and avoiding duplication of obligations would simplify compliance in many sectors where Europe is today a leader and must remain competitive.

• Finally, national authorities must cooperate to avoid fragmented implementation. Such a complex implementation framework with many different authorities will lead to overlapping competences. The designation of a central contact point per Member State and a strong European coordination mechanism under the aegis of the AI Board (planned by the European Commission) will ensure consistent application and implementation.