EU’s Landmark Law to Regulate AI Clears Final Hurdle
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
The European Union’s AI Act received final approval from member countries on Tuesday, establishing a groundbreaking benchmark for AI laws in Europe and across the globe. The Act, which comes into effect next month, follows the political agreement reached between member states in December 2023.
“This landmark law, the first of its kind in the world, addresses a global technological challenge that also creates opportunities for our societies and economies,” Belgian digitization minister Mathieu Michel said in a statement .
According to the European Commission, the legislation was developed using a “risk-based approach” where AI products are categorized based on their level of potential risk to society.
Under the new law , AI systems are divided into three risk categories — unacceptable, high, and low or general-purpose AI models.
AI systems (unacceptable risk) that can be used for social scoring and cognitive behavioral manipulation have been outrightly banned under the new law, as they can be a threat to people’s fundamental rights, safety, health, and the rule of law itself.
High-risk AI systems (models used in critical sectors and by law enforcement agencies for identification and other purposes) will face stricter transparency regulations, including human oversight.
General purpose AI (GPAI) models, like chatbots, will have lighter transparency requirements.
Although the law will officially take effect in 2026 , bans on AI systems posing unacceptable risks will be enforced six months after the regulation comes into force. Regulations for general-purpose AI systems will apply after 12 months, while rules for high-risk AI systems will be implemented after 36 months.
The Act has also established a structure to penalize AI product companies for non-compliance. In addition, a new governance architecture will be implemented to oversee the AI Act and enforce it.
“We Messed Up — Sorry”: Reddit Reintroduces Old Award System
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
Reddit reintroduced its old award system last week, along with other new updates, after users found the “golden upvote” system that was introduced less engaging
“We tried something new, it wasn’t great (you called it),” Reddit said in the May 15th post . It also said that the new golden upvote system “wasn’t as fun or expressive as legacy awards.” As a result, it’s “(re)launching awards, not-so-new but definitely improved.”
The company stated that the new system, available on both its mobile apps and site, will retain most of the mechanisms from the previous award program while incorporating some new elements. The company is also replacing the previously used coins, which were purchased with real money to buy awards, with gold.
An award button is placed under eligible posts, and the user interface (UI) has been updated to reduce clutter. Moreover, the new system also includes an awards leaderboard showcasing the top awards and gold earned for a post or comment.
Despite Reddit’s apologetic attempt to placate its users, many seemed confused with the new award system. “It’s wonderful to see you acknowledge that and try to fix it, but this seems like a mishmash of the old gold system and the one you tried to replace it with… it’s going to be more confusing than ever,” said one user .
Some expressed disappointment, calling the new award system a downgrade from the original one. “Still no free coins anymore? … I think this is still a downgrade from the original system in a lot of ways, other than reducing clutter,” said another.
Reddit also acknowledged the users whose coin balance was removed. The company announced that these users would have access to some exclusive awards to be used free of charge.
Reddit has also added new safety measures to prevent awards from appearing on sensitive, mature, or NSFW subreddits and to allow users to report any misuse of awards.
