On Monday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Europe is about to Announce Dramatic new Digital Rules governing AI & Social Media targeted at China & US Tech Companies." The report noted that "A first draft of the artificial intelligence policy, which is being coordinated by Ms. Vestager, will be released on Wednesday, along with broader recommendations outlining the bloc’s digital strategy for the coming years. In Wednesday's report Vestager will also cover new facial recognition rules."  

Today, the Commission unveiled its ideas and actions for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. It presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first, opens up new opportunities for businesses, and boosts the development of trustworthy technology to foster an open and democratic society and a vibrant and sustainable economy. Digital is a key enabler to fighting climate change and achieving the green transition. The European data strategy and the policy options to ensure the human-centric development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presented today are the first steps towards achieving these goals.

The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen: "Today we are presenting our ambition to shape Europe's digital future. It covers everything from cybersecurity to critical infrastructures, digital education to skills, democracy to media. I want that digital Europe reflects the best of Europe – open, fair, diverse, democratic, and confident."

Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager: "We want every citizen, every employee, every business to stand a fair chance to reap the benefits of digitalization. Whether that means driving more safely or polluting less thanks to connected cars; or even saving lives with AI-driven medical imagery that allows doctors to detect diseases earlier than ever before.”

Commissioner for Internal Market,Thierry Breton: "Our society is generating a huge wave of industrial and public data, which will transform the way we produce, consume and live. I want European businesses and our many SMEs to access this data and create value for Europeans – including by developing Artificial Intelligence applications. Europe has everything it takes to lead the ‘big data' race, and preserve its technological sovereignty, industrial leadership and economic competitiveness to the benefit of European consumers."

Commission White Paper Artificial Intelligence

Below is the promised European Commission White Paper on Artificial Intelligence. The White Paper on Artificial Intelligence is now open for public consultation until 19 May 2020.

   Commission White Paper Artificial Intelligence Feb 2020 by Jack Purcher on Scribd

The White Paper on Artificial Intelligence is now open for public consultation until 19 May 2020.

Other related Documents

01: A Europe Fit for the Digital Age

02: Shaping Europe's digital future

03: Excellence and trust in Artificial Intelligence

04: European Data Strategy

The EU Commission released a plethora of new materials today that could take a legal team days or weeks to wade through and determine how the EU's new positions could affect U.S. tech giants.

In the short term it's very possible that we'll hear from some of the top U.S. companies in the coming hours or days being that where given the documentation ahead of time to study.

More than likely there'll be analysis provided by certain media publications in the coming days that will provide expert opinions on the matter that will assist us in sorting out the blizzard of complicated documents released by the EU Commission today. On first glance, it seems clear that the U.S. government will have to consider countermeasures in the coming year as it appears that the EU Commission wants to push their AI and broader digital agenda globally.  

For those that are seriously interested in this subject matter, there's a video (from a live feed) on Facebook covering EU ministers debating the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence here.