The Government of Spain and the European Commission recently launched a pilot program for the AI regulatory sandbox.
Last month, the government of Spain and the European Commission presented a pilot of the first regulatory sandbox on Artificial Intelligence. This sandbox aims to bring together the competent authorities and the companies that develop AI to determine the best practices which will guide the implementation of future AI Regulation by the European Commission (the Artificial Intelligence Act). A timeline of two years has been placed on the implementation of this legislation. According to this report from the European Commission, this initiative by the Spanish government seeks to operationalise the requirements of future AI regulation and other features, including conformity assessments and post-market activities.
The AI regulatory sandbox will create an opportunity for innovators and regulators to come together and collaborate.
This sandbox presents a way to connect innovators and regulators within a controlled environment to foster cooperation. The aim is to facilitate the development, testing and validation of innovative AI systems with the mindset of ensuring compliance with the requirements of the AI Regulation. In the interim of preparing for the AI Act, this initiative is expected to clarify easy-to-follow, future-proof best practices and other guidelines. The results are expected to facilitate the implementation of rules by companies, particularly SMEs and start-ups.
The results of the pilot will determine guidelines for the implementation and use of AI throughout the European Union.
Due to this pilot experience, obligations for AI system providers, and how to implement them will be documented and systematised in the form of good practices and lessons learnt implementation guidelines. This will also include methods to control and follow up, to be used by supervising national authorities in charge of implementing the supervisory mechanisms that the regulation establishes. While this project is being financed by the Spanish government, it will remain open to other Member States, and could potentially become a pan-European AI regulatory sandbox. This is expected to strengthen the cooperation of all possible actors at the European level. Cooperation at EU level with other Member States will be pursued within the framework of the Expert Group on AI and Digitalisation of Businesses established by the European Commission.
Does your company have all of the mandated safeguards in place to ensure the safety of the personal data you collect or process? Aphaia can help. Aphaia also provides both GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 consultancy services, including data protection impact assessments, and Data Protection Officer outsourcing. We can help your company get on track towards full compliance. Contact us today.
