Context

On December 9, 2023, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the world's first-ever comprehensive legal framework on AI. The AI Act establishes obligations for AI applications and foundation models based on its potential risks and level of impact. The law aims to ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability are protected from high risk AI, while boosting innovation and making Europe a leader in the field. 

Given the size of the EU market, European regulation tends to have a significant impact on the global market and can lead to legislative change across jurisdictions, a trend commonly known as the "Brussels effect." Once an EU legislation goes into effect, companies seeking to continue operating in the EU market will make changes to their products and services to comply with the law and implement those changes across all markets as it is more costly to make a separate product just for the EU - this is called a de facto Brussels Effect.

A de jure Brussels effect is when EU law influences other countries to pass similar legislation, as was the case with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which led to data privacy laws being passed in Japan and in the state of California. It is likely that the AI Act will have a large impact on the global AI market and lead to a de facto Brussels effect as U.S. AI companies comply with the law, but will it establish a new global standard for AI regulation?

Resolution Criteria

This question will resolve positively if a non-EU country enacts a comprehensive legal framework on Artificial Intelligence into law by Dec. 31, 2025, according to major news reporting.

Further Reading

Artificial Intelligence Act: deal on comprehensive rules for trustworthy AI

The Brussels Effect and Artificial Intelligence

The EU AI Act will have global impact, but a limited Brussels Effect