Over 100 organizations have signed the voluntary commitments in the EU's AI Pact
The European Commission released a list of over 100 early adopters of the AI Pact's voluntary commitments, including major tech companies and representatives from various sectors. Still, notable absences like Apple and Meta highlight ongoing challenges in AI regulation compliance across the EU.
On September 25, the European Commission released a list containing more than a hundred organizations that first signed the voluntary commitments of the AI Pact. Among those early adopters of the AI Pact are big industry names like Adobe, Google, and OpenAI, smaller AI companies, and a diversity of other sector representatives including IT, telecoms, healthcare, banking, automotive, and aeronautics.
The AI Act entered into force on August 1, 2024, but most of its rules will not be applied for a few years. While a few provisions are entering into force in 2025, most will not be fully enacted until 2026 and 2027. The AI Pact is a framework promoted by the European Commission to encourage participants to develop a community that fosters transparency and knowledge-sharing while laying the groundwork for the upcoming compliance of the AI Act. Unlike the latter, the AI Pact is not legally binding, since participation only requires signing voluntary commitments known as 'pledges'.
The minimal responsibilities undertaken with the signature of the pledges are three core actions: develop a governance strategy that supports AI adoption that complies with the AI Act, identify existing and future AI systems that fall into the high-risk categorization according to the AI Act, and support ethical and responsible deployments by promoting AI literacy and awareness within the organization. However, the Commission highlighted that most signatories endorsed additional pledges, including ensuring human oversight, deploying risk mitigation strategies, and developing transparent labeling for AI-generated content. Interested parties can sign on to the Pact at any time up to the AI Act's full enactment.
Notably missing from the early adopter list were Apple and Meta. Meta officially introduced its new multimodal Llama 3.2 11 and 90B models at the Meta Connect 2024 event. The company also confirmed that due to the "unpredictable nature" of the European Union AI regulation (a favorite excuse of the company of late), the Llama 3.2 11 and 90B models will not be available in the region. As for adherence to the AI Pact, the company has reportedly stated it will not sign into the voluntary commitments soon, as it is currently prioritizing efforts that will lead to AI Act compliance.
