The European Union is taking steps to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) in a coordinated manner, with France, Germany and Italy coming to an agreement on joint regulation. This agreement is expected to speed up negotiations at the European level and set the stage for voluntary commitments from both smaller and larger AI companies.

The European Commission, the European Parliaments and the Council of the European Union are currently discussing how this alliance should be set up. In June, the European Parliament introduced the “AI Act” which aims to prevent the risks of AI applications and avoid discriminatory effects, while also supporting the innovative power of AI. However, during the debate, it was proposed that this code of conduct would initially be binding only for large AI providers, mostly from the US.

However, France, Germany and Italy believe that giving a competitive advantage to smaller European companies could have a negative effect on trust and result in fewer users. Therefore, they claim that this code must be binding on all with the possibility of establishing a system of penalties over time.

The German Ministry of Economy is leading negotiations with the Ministry of Digital Affairs on this matter. The UK held its first meeting on AI in November and Germany will host a digital conference in Jena in 2020 bringing together representatives from politics, business and science.