LONDON (NEWSnet/AP) — European Union lawmakers gave final approval to the 27-nation bloc’s artificial intelligence law Wednesday.

Lawmakers in European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Artificial Intelligence Act, five years after regulations were first proposed.

The measure is expected to provide a global signpost for governments grappling with how to regulate the technology.

AI Act is expected to become law by May or June, after  final formalities, including a blessing from EU member countries. Provisions will take effect in stages, with countries required to ban prohibited AI systems within six months after it takes effect.

Initially, it was intended as consumer safety legislation, taking a risk-based approach to products or services that use artificial intelligence.

The majority of AI systems are assumed "low-risk," such as content recommendation systems or spam filters. Companies may choose to follow voluntary requirements and codes of conduct.

High-risk uses of AI, such as in medical devices or critical infrastructure, face more stringent requirements, such as using high-quality data and providing clear information to users.

Rules for general purpose AI systems, such as chatbots, begin a year after the law takes effect. By mid-2026, the complete set of regulations, including requirements for high-risk systems, will be established.

Some AI uses are banned if they’re deemed to pose an unacceptable risk, including social scoring systems that govern how people behave; predictive policing; and emotion-recognition systems in school and workplaces.

Additional banned use includes police scanning faces in public using AI “biometric identification,” with exception of serious crime, such as kidnapping or terrorism.

Developers of general-purpose AI models must provide a detailed summary of text, photographs, video and other data used to train systems, and must follow EU copyright law.

“Deepfake” video or audio of real people, places or events must be labeled as artificially manipulated.

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