The recent decision of the Hamburg Labour Court concerning a German works council’s attempt to enforce a ban on the use of AI in a workplace makes it clear once again that employers cannot simply let the use of AI run its course unchecked.
Employers are well advised to take a moment check their current IT landscape given that implementation of the AI Act is now on the horizon: The EU Parliament voted on the Act on 13 March. Now a final lawyer-linguist check takes place and the text is then expected to be finally adopted before the end of the legislature. The law also needs to be formally endorsed by the Council. The Act will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. While its rules will apply in stages (within 6 months – so by December this year – systems bearing unacceptable risks will have to be shut down), after two years all of it will be in force.
The idea behind the Act is to regulate the use and development of artificial intelligence on a risk-based approach. This means that the Act will apply to “providers”, “deployers”, “importers”, “distributors” and “authorised representatives”, essentially entailing not only software developers, but also users (hence employers and employees), and those involved in the distribution chain. Companies worldwide are going to be affected if they offer or operate AI systems or whose AI-generated output is used within the EU, including in relation to any employees there.