每日英語跟讀 Ep.K118: Europe Proposes Strict Regulation of Artificial Intelligence

The European Union unveiled strict regulations on April 21 to govern the use of artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind policy that outlines how companies and governments can use a technology seen as one of the most significant, but ethically fraught, scientific breakthroughs in recent memory.

歐洲聯盟4月21日公布了管理人工智慧使用的嚴格規範，這項史無前例的政策，勾勒出企業與政府應當如何使用這種科技。AI是近年來最重要、卻在倫理方面令人擔憂的科學突破之一。

The draft rules would set limits around the use of artificial intelligence in a range of activities, from self-driving cars to hiring decisions, bank lending, school enrollment selections and the scoring of exams. It would also cover the use of artificial intelligence by law enforcement and court systems — areas considered “high risk” because they could threaten people’s safety or fundamental rights.

法規草案針對人工智慧在許多活動中的使用設下限制，包括自駕車、聘僱決定、銀行貸款、學校招生篩選及考試的評分等。另外新法規還涵蓋執法和司法部門對人工智慧的使用，這些領域被視為具「高風險」，因為可能威脅到人們的安全或基本權利。

Some uses would be banned altogether, including live facial recognition in public spaces, though there would be several exemptions for national security and other purposes.

有些用途將完全禁止，包括在公共場所進行即時臉部辨識，不過基於國家安全等特別目的可容許一些例外。

The 108-page policy is an attempt to regulate an emerging technology before it becomes mainstream. The rules have far-reaching implications for major technology companies including Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft that have poured resources into developing artificial intelligence, but also scores of other companies that use the software to develop medicine, underwrite insurance policies, and judge credit worthiness. Governments have used versions of the technology in criminal justice and allocating public services like income support.

這份政策文件全文有108頁，宗旨是在一種新興科技成為主流之前加以規範。這些法規對於亞馬遜、谷歌、臉書與微軟等投入大量資源開發人工智慧的大型科技公司，以及另外數十家使用人工智慧軟體研發藥物、承銷保險以及評估判信用度的企業，都會產生深遠影響。一些政府也將特定版本人工智慧用於刑事司法，以及收入補助等公共服務的分配。

Companies that violate the new regulations, which could take several years to move through the European Union policymaking process, could face fines of up to 6% of global sales.

這項新規範可能需要數年才能走完歐盟的決策程序，生效後企業如果違反這些新規定，恐將面臨最高達到其全球營收6％的罰款。

“On artificial intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice to have,” Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president who oversees digital policy for the 27-nation bloc, said in a statement. “With these landmark rules, the EU is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted.”

歐盟27國集團的數位政策由歐盟執委會副主席瑪格麗特．維斯塔哲負責督導，她在聲明中說：「就人工智慧而言，信任非有不可，而非可有可無。憑藉這些具有里程碑意義的法規，歐盟正帶頭制定新的全球規範，以確保人工智慧能獲得信任。」

The European Union regulations would require companies providing artificial intelligence in high-risk areas to provide regulators with proof of its safety, including risk assessments and documentation explaining how the technology is making decisions. The companies must also guarantee human oversight in how the systems are created and used.

歐盟法規將要求在高風險領域提供人工智慧的企業，向監管機構提供安全性證明，包括風險評估以及該技術是如何做出決策的解釋文件。企業還必須保證在系統創建與使用上要有人為監督。

For the past decade, the European Union has been the world’s most aggressive watchdog of the technology industry, with its policies often used as blueprints by other nations.

過去十年，歐盟一直是世界上對科技業最積極的監管者，其政策經常被其他國家奉為藍本。

每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing

每週Vocab精選詞彙Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/vocab

每週In-TENSE文法練習Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/in-tense

用email訂閱就可以收到通勤學英語節目更新通知。