To ensure effective enforcement of EU rules on AI, some Member States have sought to mitigate the potential burden on businesses. Still, Slovakia sees opportunities for comparable benefit if it can implement the regulations.
The AI law is a landmark piece of EU legislation to regulate artificial intelligence based on its potential for harm.
While the AI law has received the most attention, the final form of regulation will be determined by a set of EU laws and initiatives, explained Juraj Čorba in an interview with EURACTIV Slovakia.
As a representative of the Slovak Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization, Čorba played a key role in representing the country in the EU AI Regulation negotiations at the Council of Europe Artificial Intelligence Committee and the OECD Expert Group.
Čorba has also processed a whole range of digital files, including the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Product Safety Regulation, the Product Liability Directive, as well as other data and financial services regulations – including the Data Act and the recently passed regulations on crypto assets.
“Although these are less publicly discussed in relation to AI, they are just as important as the AI law itself,” says the Slovakian expert. Therefore, national approaches to dealing with this complexity will be key to the success of the EU, explained Čorba.
The European Parliament is expected to adopt its position on the AI law on June 14, with member states and the EU Parliament committed to reaching a political agreement before the end of the year.
At the level of the EU Council of Ministers, Slovakia, like some other countries, has focused mainly on the area of biometric identification and on efforts to define the overall aim of AI. This mainly means large language models that can be adapted to a large number of tasks.
However, according to Čorba, the main focus was on enforcing and ensuring quality public oversight structures that will be responsible for enforcing all legislation.
AI Law: “We’re About To Hit A Milestone”
The European Parliament’s main parliamentary committees gave the green light to the AI law in a vote on Thursday (May 11), paving the way for adoption in plenary in mid-June.
Regulation is only as good as those who implement it
“If we want to strike a balance between welcoming investment, being innovative, having a transparent and high-quality business environment for anyone who wants to develop or use AI, and protecting people and companies from risk, then success in practice depends on certain people,” said the Slovak expert.
In his opinion, regulation “will only be as good as those responsible for it”.
Once the AI rulebook is established, national regulators will be tasked with holding sophisticated and wealthy tech companies to account – there will be an inevitable asymmetry of resources and expertise.
For this reason, Slovakia focused the negotiations on supporting the creation of the elementary prerequisites for the functioning of public institutions at European level.
Like many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Slovakia is also facing a severe shortage of skilled workers. “There is a lot of struggle about them in the private sector, but also in the public sector,” emphasized Čorba.
The Slovakian negotiator pointed out that investments and businessmen go where the government understands their type of business.
“Properly evaluating the intersection of data models for digital platforms, IoT, digital finance for AI will be highly valued by companies looking to work with us in the future.”
Regulatory Pioneers
For Čorba, the AI regulation will have very different effects in each country of the Union.
Slovakia, as a small country where the AI ecosystem is still in its infancy, is trying to “keep the burden as bearable as possible. We don’t want to create obstacles that would put our companies in trouble,” she added.
According to the EU Digital Scoreboard 2022, 5.1% of companies in Slovakia use AI technologies – the highest number among Visegrad countries – ahead of the Czech Republic with 4.4%, Hungary with 2.9% and Poland with 2.8%.
The country had only partial success with its proposal to create negotiation and coordination mechanisms at EU level and to build situational awareness capacity.
In its December position, the Council proposed the creation of a body of independent experts at EU level that EU countries could consult. The possibilities for cooperation between all the authorities involved have also been expanded.
According to Čorba, Slovakia could not only succeed in implementing the AI law, but also gain a “comparable advantage”.
“Based on European regulations, we can create a regulatory and institutional framework where we have the opportunity to stand out. If we manage to develop a quality framework and attract experienced people, we can attract investments in the European or global market”, he concluded.
[Bearbeitet von Luca Bertuzzi/Nathalie Weatherald]