EU lawmakers agree to changes in draft artificial intelligence rules

EU lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to changes in draft artificial intelligence rules proposed by the European Commission in a bid to set a global standard for a technology used in everything from automated factories to bots such as ChatGPT.

The lawmakers will now have to thrash out details with European Union countries before the draft rules become legislation.

"AI raises a lot of questions - socially, ethically, economically. But now is not the time to hit any 'pause button'. On the contrary, it is about acting fast and taking responsibility," EU industry chief Thierry Breton said.


The biggest issue is expected to be facial recognition and biometric surveillance where some lawmakers want a total ban while EU countries want an exception for national security, defence and military purposes.