The European Union's AI Act, the most comprehensive regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to date, has now taken full effect, and its ripple effects are being felt across the global technology industry.
Supporters argue that clear rules are essential to prevent harms ranging from algorithmic discrimination to the erosion of democratic processes, pointing to documented cases where unregulated AI systems have caused real damage.
Technology companies and venture capital firms counter that overly prescriptive regulation risks stifling innovation and driving AI development to jurisdictions with fewer safeguards, potentially achieving the opposite of regulators' stated goals.
The fundamental challenge is that AI capabilities are advancing faster than the legislative and regulatory processes designed to govern them, creating a persistent gap between what the technology can do and what the rules address.
