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European Union officials worked into the late hours last week hammering out an agreement on world-leading rules meant to govern the use of artificial intelligence in the 27-nation bloc.
The Artificial Intelligence Act is the latest set of regulations designed to govern technology in Europe destined to have global impact.
Here's a closer look at the AI rules:
What is the AI act?
The AI Act takes a "risk-based approach" to products or services that use artificial intelligence and focuses on regulating uses of AI rather than the technology. The legislation is designed to protect democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights like freedom of speech, while still encouraging investment and innovation.
The riskier an AI application is, the stiffer the rules. Those that pose limited risk, such as content recommendation systems or spam filters, would have to follow only light rules such as revealing that they are powered by AI.
High-risk systems, such as medical devices, face tougher requirements like using high-quality data and providing clear information to users.
Some AI uses are banned because they're deemed to pose an unacceptable risk, like social scoring systems that govern how people behave, some types of predictive policing and emotion recognition systems in school and workplaces.
People in public can't have their faces scanned by police using AI-powered remote "biometric identification" systems, except for serious crimes like kidnapping or terrorism.
The AI Act won't take effect until two years after final approval from European lawmakers, expected in a rubber-stamp vote in early 2024. Violations could draw fines of up to $38 million or 7% of a company's global revenue.
How does the AI act affect the world?
The AI Act will apply to the EU's nearly 450 million residents, but experts say its impact could be felt far beyond because of Brussels' leading role in drawing up rules that act as a global standard.
The EU has played the role before with previous tech directives, most notably mandating a common charging plug that forced Apple to abandon its in-house Lightning cable.
While many other countries are figuring out whether and how they can rein in AI, the EU's comprehensive regulations are poised to serve as a blueprint.
"The AI Act is the world's first comprehensive, horizontal and binding AI regulation that will not only be a game-changer in Europe but will likely significantly add to the global momentum to regulate AI across jurisdictions," said Anu Bradford, a Columbia Law School professor who's an expert on EU law and digital regulation.
"It puts the EU in a unique position to lead the way and show to the world that AI can be governed and its development can be subjected to democratic oversight," she said.
Even what the law doesn't do could have global repercussions, rights groups said.
By not pursuing a full ban on live facial recognition, Brussels has "in effect greenlighted dystopian digital surveillance in the 27 EU Member States, setting a devastating precedent globally," Amnesty International said.