Artificial intelligence (AI) has generated an intense debate due to its growing influence and the various ways in which it is being used. It has transformed the way we acquire knowledge, work, socially interact and manage key sectors such as education, health, business world and economics. According to the report “Cybersecurity status in Spain 2024” of Secure & It, 55.3% of Spanish companies use generative AI tools, but 32.7% say they have not implanted specific measures. In addition, 21.5% of companies that do not use AI plan to implement it throughout 2025.
The use of these tools is increasing. According to Samsung’s study “Smart Life: how AI is improving our daily experiences”, 90% of respondents from European countries, including Spain, believe they have some knowledge of AI. Of the 11,000 people surveyed, only 38% were intrigued by the role that AI in their lives will play, although more than half manifests interest in learning on this subject.
Beyond the perception of citizens, AI is constituted as a key piece for the composition of the international order of the future. According to Natalia Patiño, legal consultant at Secure & It, the countries and interest groups that lead the development and implementation of artificial intelligence will hold economic, military and political power: “The power of AI goes far beyond what citizens ‘of standing’ can perceive at the individual level through the use of generative systems.”
The EU, pioneer in the regulation of AI
In this context, the debate about the need to regulate the AI grows and establish certain limits to its application due to the increase in the use of this tool in the last year. Young people are the ones who use the tools of AI most. Specifically, 71% of generation Z ensures that AI allows them to perform activities that they could not do before. Even more than 80% of the Z and millennial generation are convinced that this technology is revolutionizing our way of interacting with mobile devices.
The European Union is a pioneer in the regulation on the use of AI with the approval of the Artificial Intelligence Regulation (RIA)
Given these data and the progress of the use of AI, the EU decided to approve the Artificial Intelligence Regulation (RIA), which entered into force in August 2024 and will be applied progressively during the next three years. “Europe defends an AI presided over by ethics, security and human rights, pretending to find the balance between the impulse to innovation and the perspective of an AI oriented towards the well -being of the human being.
For its part, China adopts a centralized and strategic regulatory approach, focusing on state control and technological progress. And the United States aims to impose a market driven in an environment of regulatory absence or with a disintegrated sector regulation, ”explains Natalia Patiño.
On February 2, the first milestone was marked in the application of the Artificial Intelligence Regulation (RIA): the prohibition to introduce into the community market, put into service or use certain AI systems. Despite the multiple benefits of the use of AI, this technology can also be used as a tool to carry out practices contrary to the fundamental rights recognized in the EU and entails risks in terms of safety and environment.
Fines of up to 35 million euros for the RIA
RIA prohibitions include practices such as the introduction in the AI systems market that use subliminal or deliberately manipulative techniques; the exploitation of vulnerabilities derived from the personal characteristics of an individual or group that could influence their behavior and lead to damage; certain scoring systems that cause harmful or disproportionate treatment.
As well as the prediction of crimes aimed at assessing the risk that a person can commit crimes only based on a profile or features of the individual; Systems for the recognition of emotions in the workplace and educational centers; as well as the processing of biometric data in AI systems in certain conditions, among other practices.
For the different AI operators, these prohibitions represent a challenge. The legal consultant of Secure & It explains: “They must ensure that the models and systems of AI that they put in the market do not violate the marked limits, which can imply the need for modification or eliminate certain functionalities or opt for systems appropriate to legality.” The violation of these prohibitions can mean administrative fines that could reach 35 million euros, or up to 7% of their business volume, if this amount is greater.
“European consumers and organizations increasingly value privacy, security and protection of fundamental rights. Therefore, developing ethical, responsible and beneficial systems for society can generate new opportunities for innovation and business in this field, ”concludes Patiño.
