I do think it’s most likely that they will end up fining the AI companies quite a bit under this act. It seems like a bit of a pattern with European legislation that disproportionately impacts American tech companies.
The EU has begun enforcing the AI Act: first RFIs to model providers (tokenstead.ai)
19 pointsby cdnstevean hour ago17 comments
asdfasgasdgasdg 30 minutes ago
I doubt it’s the end of AI access in Europe. Even if they do fine them 3% of global turnover, that’s probably a small enough fraction of their European revenue that it’s worth the risk. After all if they drop European traffic it’s not like it’ll change their fixed costs, and the marginal cost to serve Europe is probably relatively small compared to their fixed costs.
satvikpendem 22 minutes ago
Perhaps the fines themselves act as a de facto AI tax that some people have been trying to promote in the political sphere, and we'll see how successful it is.
toenail 18 minutes ago
Fines escalate when there is no compliance.
satvikpendem 13 minutes ago
Then they'll just pull out eventually and save everyone the trouble.
Gerard22Aug 20 minutes ago
It's a (successful?) lobbying attempt by Mistral. They are falling behind on tech and they want to win on another stupid EU law. You know what will happen next? There will be an exception carved in for "developing countries" ... like China.
satvikpendem 14 minutes ago
Why would they, both the EU and Mistral specifically, want Chinese models? Isn't the (de facto, underlying) point of the act to raise up homegrown companies like Mistral?
spiderfarmer a minute ago
It’s how conspiracy theories work: find out who could theoretically profit, blame them and spread it as fact. It doesn’t have to stand up to scrutiny, if it sounds plausible “you told them like it is”.
bestham 9 minutes ago
I really oppose the notion that “European legislation … disproportionately impacts American tech companies”. US tech has a profound impact on the lives of everyday Europeans while the US has almost no checks and balances in place for the tech industry. Europeans are ought to be able decide how they want to live their lives and build a society. This must include deciding how much influence American tech companies shall be allowed to have by passing laws for Europe.
spiderfarmer 4 minutes ago
Also, most US citizens want the same regulations as EU citizens, but only one of them have a functioning government.
benoau 3 minutes ago
The whole premise ignores how much the same companies are fined and settling for in the US, for many of the same reasons: privacy abuse, market abuse, societal abuse, worker abuse, etc. Pound for pound the recent Meta settlement has certainly skewed the numbers much higher for the US too.
pjmlp 3 minutes ago
Poor American companies, who thinks of them when Chinese government does similar actions, and they play ball, regardless of the government actions.
tadfisher 13 minutes ago
Can anyone AI;DR this? Not subjecting myself to tortured prose.
mmaunder 15 minutes ago
Frustrating for EU companies trying to stay competitive globally.
thallium205 3 minutes ago
Europe on another money grubbing fishing expedition on US corporations.
satvikpendem 16 minutes ago
Claude slop article aside, this act is one reason why some people say Europe is an open air museum, as it'd rather regulate itself to obscurity while its great works are behind it. Where is Mistral, Le Chaton Fat? They're not competitive anymore. Meanwhile China reaches ever forward because they know that speed and endurance is everything in a race, not shooting oneself in the foot.
seibelj 12 minutes ago
You’ll get downvoted to oblivion but it’s true in endless ways even before AI. The EUs obsession with green energy and destroying nuclear in Germany, the wealth taxes, the bureaucracy, how it’s 10x easier to get disability than it is to start a corporation. Death by a thousand cuts. I don’t see this improving until real, visible pain is felt. They are so poor economically but the consequences are not being felt yet
satvikpendem 3 minutes ago
And it's not even just me who says this, this is an exact title I've seen online as well before, below.
The reality is Europe will tend towards stagnation while other superpowers continue trudging on, some with their help of their governments while others, even despite themselves and their governments.
https://www.trouw.nl/opinie/wil-europa-geen-openluchtmuseum-...
https://www.theprincetontory.com/is-europe-an-open-air-museu...
https://www.investmentofficer.lu/en/columns/gregory-kennedy/...