On February 29th, The American Council of Germany and the American Business Forum on Europe held a breakfast briefing on “Europe’s new AI act: overview of the new legal framework” in New York.

In this event, Mr. Süme, Partner and Tech & Data Lawyer at Fieldfisher, started the presentation with what kind of activities are caught upon the AI Act and how AI is classified by prohibited/High-risk/limited systems. Also, not to mention the Generative AI, which is specifically intended to generate, with varying levels of autonomy, content such as complex text, images, or video. Participants showed concerns that, in terms of AI, Europe has a very strict approach in regulating AI, with regulations being out of sync from practical business fields. On top of that, there were some focuses on Fines and AI Enforcements in detail.

Along with many questions from the participants, some of the questions that stood up were such as “Why would people invest in Europe if there are all these regulations regarding AI?” Many strict regulations upon AI  is a clear disadvantage for SMEs and Start-ups.

In conclusion, while Europe's new AI Act presents a comprehensive legal framework, concerns persist regarding its strict regulations and potential impact on investment, particularly for SMEs and startups. Balancing regulatory oversight with fostering innovation remains a critical challenge moving forward.

Also, there is a recording of this recent webinar, so if you would like to know more about the session feel free to listen! : https://www.fieldfisher.com/en/insights/debunking-the-eu-ai-act-an-overview-of-the-new-legal-framework-ai-webinar-series