Striking a balance between the obligations for GPAI providers under the EU AI Act and their impact on business innovation

Abstract

The rapid development and risks associated with general-purpose AI has already presented several challenges, both on a business and provider level as well as on a regulatory level on the EU and its Member States. The main challenge from a legal perspective is to find the right balance between sufficient obligations for safety and transparency and ensuring a legal framework that would simultaneously foster innovation. The Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), being the first ever legal framework for AI, attempts to do exactly that. However, broad and often vague language within the AIA, combined with limited safeguards against disproportionate regulatory influence, raises concerns that these legal frameworks may impose an unproportionate regulatory burden supporting innovation in theory, but lacking sufficient mechanisms in practice.