Airbus and Mistral also ask Europe to stop the AI Act
Dozens of Europe's biggest companies urged the European Union on Thursday to delay the implementation of the regulation on artificial intelligence, warning that moving too quickly risks harming innovation. The groundbreaking legislation, unique in the world, came into force last year, but its main implementation is expected to be gradual in the coming months. The regulation aims to limit AI abuse without stifling innovation.
It therefore classifies systems according to their level of risk, imposing constraints proportional to their dangerousness. However, some 46 business leaders, including those of Airbus and Mistral (France), the Dutch giant ASML, as well as Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz (Germany), have called on Brussels to "take a break" to review the regulation. They accuse the rules of jeopardizing Europe's ambitions in the AI sector, compromising the development of European technological champions and the ability of all industries to implement AI on a global scale.
Criticisms of the AI Act: What Tech Companies Are DemandingSince the text was adopted, European and American technology companies and some EU member states, including France, have criticized it. The new US administration led by Donald Trump has also expressed criticism: Vice President JD Vance has called the European rules "excessive". Since last summer, the EU has already banned some applications considered too dangerous, such as mass surveillance, emotion recognition or social credit, as they go against its fundamental values.
Applications deemed safe will not be subject to special obligations. High-risk systems – used in sectors such as critical infrastructure, education, human resources or law enforcement – will instead be subject to stringent requirements by 2026 before being authorised on the European market. The European Commission is carrying out a regulatory simplification project, also inspired by the report published in September by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Several texts deemed too rigid have already been eased or will soon be, also due to pressure from right-wing parties in the European Parliament.
The Italian initiative: “Stop the regulation clock”In their letter published Thursday, the CEOs ask for a two-year pause to allow for a “simplification” of the rules. The request specifically concerns the rules for general-purpose AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and for high-risk systems. Meanwhile, an Italian initiative has also been launched to ask for the suspension of the AI Act . The appeal, titled “Stop the Clock. Fermare l’orologio dell’AI Act,” was signed by a group of Italian technology companies, along with investors, research centers, and institutions.
The goal is to prevent overly rigid regulations from stifling innovation and hindering European competitiveness. The document, entitled “AI is the future, not bureaucracy,” was born from a meeting at the Chamber of Deputies and highlights how the European regulation poses “significant operational difficulties, especially for startups and innovative entities of all sizes.” The 38 Italian signatories include the ANGI association (young innovators), AIFTI (entrepreneurs and technology founders), AI Salon, and companies such as Aptus.AI, Empatica, and the edutainment platform Datapizza.
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