EU Tech Chief Says Bloc Can Counter Rogue AI Risks

European Union tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the bloc’s artificial intelligence rules can address risks from AI agents that operate beyond human control.

In an interview on Friday, Virkkunen described the safety and security of highly capable AI models as an international concern. Europe has rules in place to address those risks, she added.

“We see that the safety and security of very capable models is a very hot topic internationally and we in Europe are well equipped for that,” Virkkunen said.

The EU’s AI Act classifies systems according to the level of risk they pose. The law covers the full life cycle of advanced AI models and was adopted two years ago.

Virkkunen rejected criticism that the rules are outdated. EU regulators are preparing guidance to help companies assess their models, using recommendations from 60 AI experts.

The European Commission requested information in late August from more than 30 AI companies whose names were not disclosed. The companies were asked to provide details about their safety and security measures. Virkkunen was assessing their responses at the time of the interview.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has also raised concerns about the pace of AI development. In a blog post published on Sept. 13, he wrote that development could eventually “outrun our ability to understand and control these systems.”

Amodei linked the rapid progress to AI systems’ growing ability to help develop the next generation of models. This process is known as recursive self-improvement.