Over 100 companies sign EU Artificial Intelligence Pact

The European Commission has announced that over a hundred companies have become the first signatories of the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Pact, marking a significant step toward fostering trustworthy and responsible AI development in Europe.

The signatories, which include major multinational corporations as well as European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from diverse sectors such as IT, telecoms, healthcare, banking, automotive, and aeronautics, have voluntarily pledged to align their AI practices with the principles of the AI Act ahead of its formal implementation.

The EU AI Pact, a voluntary initiative, aims to support businesses in proactively adopting ethical AI governance practices. It strengthens collaboration between the EU AI Office, industry, civil society, and academia, driving innovation while ensuring safety and accountability in AI systems.

Participating companies in the AI Pact have committed to at least three core actions:

• AI governance strategy: Signatories will work to establish AI governance frameworks that support the ethical use of AI within their organizations and prepare for future compliance with the AI Act.
• High-risk AI systems mapping: Companies will identify AI systems that could be categorised as “high-risk” under the AI Act and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.
• Promoting AI literacy: To encourage responsible AI development, firms will increase AI literacy and awareness among staff, helping to embed ethical considerations into AI development processes.

In addition to these foundational commitments, over half of the companies have taken on additional pledges, such as ensuring human oversight of AI systems, mitigating potential risks, and transparently labelling AI-generated content, including deepfakes.

The European Commission has emphasized that other companies are encouraged to join the AI Pact at any time before the AI Act becomes fully applicable.

As part of its broader efforts to strengthen AI innovation in Europe, the European Commission is also launching new initiatives to support AI development. One key program, the AI Factories initiative, launched on 10 September 2024, will provide startups and industry players with a one-stop-shop for AI innovation. The initiative will offer access to essential resources such as data, talent, and computing power, helping companies accelerate the development and validation of AI applications in critical sectors like healthcare, energy, transportation, defence, and manufacturing.

The AI Factories initiative is part of the Commission’s AI innovation package, unveiled in January 2024. This package includes venture capital and equity support, the deployment of Common European Data Spaces, the GenAI4EU initiative, and the Large AI Grand Challenge, which provides financial support to AI startups while granting them access to the EU’s supercomputers.

Looking ahead, the Commission will establish a European AI Research Council to unlock the full potential of AI in various fields and introduce the Apply AI Strategy to promote the industrial application of AI across Europe.

The AI Act Timeline

The AI Act, which entered into force on 1 August 2024, aims to regulate the development, deployment, and use of AI systems across the EU. While some provisions are already in effect, the full scope of the AI Act will become enforceable within the next two years. Certain rules, such as prohibitions on specific types of AI, will take effect after six months, while governance obligations and requirements for general-purpose AI models will be enforceable after 12 months. AI systems integrated into regulated products will have a longer timeline, with full applicability after 36 months.