유럽연합 인공지능법(AI Act) 최종안의 주요 내용과 입법적 시사점

AI Act establishes a common regulatory and legal framework for AI in the European Union(EU). Proposed by the European Commission on 21 April 2021, it passed the European Parliament on 13 March 2024, and was unanimously approved by the EU Council on 21 May 2024. AI Act can apply extraterritorially to providers from outside the EU, if they have users within the EU. The Act classifies non-exempted AI applications by their risk of causing harm. There are four levels –unacceptable, high, limited, minimal– plus an additional category for general-purpose AI. Applications with unacceptable risks are banned. High-risk applications must comply with security, transparency and quality obligations and undergo conformity assessments. Limited-risk applications only have transparency obligations and those representing minimal risks are not regulated. For general-purpose AI, transparency requirements are imposed, with additional evaluations when there are high risks. Exceptionally, AI Act exempt AI systems used for military or national security purposes or for pure scientific research and development As a global legislative model, the AI Act is to enact domestic AI laws that require urgency and can be used as an important legislative material. In addition, domestic companies will need to establish a future-oriented global strategy while closely watching the legislative trends of major trading partners such as the United States, Japan, and China, which are shifting from revitalizing AI-related industries to strengthening regulations.