A new European law aimed at regulating artificial intelligence could cost the EU 31 billion dollars in the next five years, according to a report made by the research institute Center for Data Innovation in Washington, CNBC reports, quoted by news.ro.
The law on artificial intelligence, proposed by the European Commission, will be “the most restrictive regulation of artificial intelligence”, according to the center.
“It will not only limit the development and use of artificial intelligence in Europe, but will impose significant costs on EU businesses and consumers,” the organization said in a report.
The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
The Center for Data Innovation claims that a small or medium-sized enterprise with a turnover of 10 million euros would incur compliance costs of up to 400,000 euros if it implemented a high-risk AI system.
Such systems are defined by the Commission as those that could affect fundamental rights or human security.
“This designation encompasses a wide range of potential applications – from critical infrastructure to vocational and educational training – subjecting them to a battery of requirements before companies can bring them to market,” the center said. He claims that “compliance tasks” will cost European businesses 10.9 billion euros a year by 2025, or 31 billion euros over the next five years.
“The Commission has repeatedly stated that the draft legislation on artificial intelligence will support growth and innovation in Europe’s digital economy, but a realistic economic analysis suggests that the argument is at least meaningless,” said Ben Mueller, senior analyst at policies at the research institute and author of the report.
He added: “The optimistic outlook is largely based on opinions rather than logic and market data. Artificial intelligence is already being used for Google, Apple and Facebook products, but MEPs are worried about its impact. Although technology has the potential to be a force in areas such as health care and climate modeling, it could also be used in deadly autonomous weapons or to give each person in a population a social “score”.
Meanwhile, machines that can learn how to perform the tasks usually performed by humans could eradicate millions of jobs.
The Center for Data Innovation is part of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which is supported by Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company.