The European Union’s new AI Act focuses on risk without considering benefits, which could hinder the development of new technology while failing to protect the public.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
European Union. EUR-Lex https://go.nature.com/4361deo (accessed 3 March 2024).
European Parliament. https://go.nature.com/3RImQOd (accessed 3 March 2024).
Moës, N. & Ryan, F. The Future Society https://go.nature.com/3P1vBke (2023).
Laux, J., Wachter, S., & Mittelstadt, B. in Regulation & Governance Vol. 18 (eds. Levi-Faur, D. et al.) 3–32 (2024).
European Commission. EUR-Lex https://go.nature.com/3P1SHHj (2021).
Novelli, C., Casolari, F., Rotolo, A., Taddeo, M. & Floridi, L. AI Soc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01723-z (2023).
Prainsack, B., El-Sayed, S., Forgó, N., Szoszkiewicz, Ł. & Baumer, P. Lancet Digit. Health 4, e773–e774 (2022).
El-Sayed, S. et al. PLUTO - Public Value Assessment Tool https://pluto.univie.ac.at (2023).
Pfotenhauer, S. M., Juhl, J. & Aarden, E. Res. Policy 48, 895–904 (2019).
Birch, K., Chiappetta, M. & Artyushina, A. Policy Stud. 5, 468–487 (2020).
Coad, A., Nightingale, P., Stilgoe, J. & Vezzani, A (eds.). The Dark Side of Innovation (Routledge, 2022).
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies. Publications Office of the European Union https://doi.org/10.2777/773647 (2023).
Expert Panel on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation. CCA CIC https://go.nature.com/3TfblhA (23 January 2023).
McMahon, A., Buyx, A. & Prainsack, B. Med. Law Rev. 28, 155–182 (2019).
Jones, E. Ada Lovelace Institute https://go.nature.com/3Pq1Mdx (12 October 2023).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
B.P. is a member of the Austrian National Bioethics Commission, and Chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). N.F. is a member of the Austrian Data Protection Board and the AI Board, both independent consultancy bodies to the Austrian Government, and also serves as principal investigator in several European Union-funded research projects on AI (full list: https://id.univie.ac.at/en/third-party-funded-projects/). This Comment was written in a personal academic capacity by both authors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Prainsack, B., Forgó, N. New AI regulation in the EU seeks to reduce risk without assessing public benefit. Nat Med 30, 1235–1237 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02874-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02874-2