- Parts of EU’s AI Act due to come into force on August 2
- Publication of key guidance document has been delayed
- Some companies, politicians call for delay
AI Insights
Explainer: Will the EU delay enforcing its AI Act?
Item 1 of 2 AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
[1/2]AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights
STOCKHOLM, July 3 (Reuters) – With less than a month to go before parts of the European Union’s AI Act come into force, companies are calling for a pause in the provisions and getting support from some politicians.
Groups representing big U.S. tech companies such as Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Facebook owner Meta (META.O), and European companies such as Mistral and ASML (ASML.AS)have urged the European Commission to delay the AI Act by years.
Sign up here.
The rules for general purpose AI (GPAI) models take effect on Aug. 2, a Commission spokesperson reiterated, adding that the powers for enforcing those rules start only on August 2 2026.
WHAT IS THE AUGUST 2 DEADLINE?
Under the landmark act that was passed a year earlier after intense debate between EU countries, its provisions would come into effect in a staggered manner over several years.
Some important provisions, including rules for foundation models like those made by Google, Mistral and OpenAI, will be subject to transparency requirements such as drawing up technical documentation, complying with EU copyright law and providing detailed summaries about the content used for algorithm training.
The companies will also need to test for bias, toxicity, and robustness before launching.
AI models classed as posing a systemic risk and high-impact GPAI will have to conduct model evaluations, assess and mitigate risks, conduct adversarial testing, report to the European Commission on serious incidents and provide information on their energy efficiency.
WHY DO COMPANIES WANT A PAUSE?
For AI companies, the enforcement of the act means additional costs for compliance. And for ones that make AI models, the requirements are tougher.
But companies are also unsure how to comply with the rules as there are no guidelines yet. The AI Code of Practice, a guidance document to help AI developers to comply with the act, missed its publication date of May 2.
“To address the uncertainty this situation is creating, we urge the Commission to propose a two-year ‘clock-stop’ on the AI Act before key obligations enter into force,” said an open letter published on Thursday by a group of 45 European companies.
It also called for simplification of the new rules.
A Commission spokesperson said the European AI Board is discussing the timing to implement the Code of Practice, with the end of 2025 being considered.
Another concern is that the act may stifle innovation, particularly in Europe where companies have smaller compliance teams than their U.S. counterparts.
WILL IT BE POSTPONED?
While the Commission is set for GPAI rules to come in force from next month, its plan to publish key guidance to help thousands of companies to comply with the AI rules by year end would mark a six-month delay from its May deadline.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen had earlier promised to publish the AI Code of Practice before next month.
Some political leaders, such as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, have also called the AI rules “confusing” and asked the EU to pause the act.
“A bold ‘stop-the-clock’ intervention is urgently needed to give AI developers and deployers legal certainty, as long as necessary standards remain unavailable or delayed,” tech lobbying group CCIA Europe said.
Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels. Editing by Mark Potter and Louise Heavens
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
AI Insights
Russia allegedly field-testing deadly next-gen AI drone powered by Nvidia Jetson Orin — Ukrainian military official says Shahed MS001 is a ‘digital predator’ that identifies targets on its own
Ukrainian Major General Vladyslav (Владислав Клочков) Klochkov says Russia is field-testing a deadly new drone that can use AI and thermal vision to think on its own, identifying targets without coordinates and bypassing most air defense systems. According to the senior military figure, inside you will find the Nvidia Jetson Orin, which has enabled the MS001 to become “an autonomous combat platform that sees, analyzes, decides, and strikes without external commands.”
Digital predator dynamically weighs targets
With the Jetson Orin as its brain, the upgraded MS001 drone doesn’t just follow prescribed coordinates, like some hyper-accurate doodle bug. It actually thinks. “It identifies targets, selects the highest-value one, adjusts its trajectory, and adapts to changes — even in the face of GPS jamming or target maneuvers,” says Klochkov. “This is not a loitering munition. It is a digital predator.”
Even worse, the MS001 is allegedly operating in coordinated drone groups, persisting in its maximum destructive purpose despite the best efforts of Ukraine’s electronic warfare and other anti-drone systems.
Frustrated with warfare tech development speeds
Klochkov signs off his post by informing his LinkedIn followers that “We are not only fighting Russia. We are fighting inertia.” What he appears to wish for is an acceleration of Ukraine’s own assault drone capabilities. The Major General seems particularly disappointed in the Ukrainian system of procurement rounds, slowing field-testing and deployment of improved responses to new Shahed drone generations.
Shahed drones are originally an Iranian design but have gained great notoriety due to their sustained use by the Russian army to attack Ukrainian targets. The MS001 is substantially upgraded in the ‘smarts’ department thanks to Western/allies technologies.
Klochkov says the MS001 is powered by the following key technologies:
- Nvidia Jetson Orin — machine learning, video processing, object recognition
- Thermal imager — operates at night and in low visibility
- Nasir GPS with CRPA antenna — spoof-resistant navigation
- FPGA chips — onboard adaptive logic
- Radio modem — for telemetry and swarm communication
Western tech sanctions are supposed to neuter this kind of military threat from nations like Russia and Iran. This news indicates that such trade barriers are leaky, at best, and probably not taken seriously enough.
Not the first Russia-deployed drone discovered using Nvidia AI
This isn’t the first Russian drone system that is thought to have adopted Nvidia’s Jetson Orin as a key component.
A month ago, Ukraine’s Defense Express site said that a new “smart suicide attack unmanned aerial vehicle with artificial intelligence,” dubbed the V2U, was powered by Nvidia’s little AI computer.
While the Shahed MS001s use an Iranian design, the V2U looks like it is more reliant on Chinese tech, including the Chinese-made Leetop A603 carrier board.
Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
On today’s show, Andy simulates the Packers 2025 season utilizing artificial intelligence. Find out the results on today’s all-new Pack-A-Day Podcast! #Packers #GreenBayPackers #ai To become a member of the Pack-A-Day Podcast, click here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSGx5Pq0zA_7O726M3JEptA/join Don’t forget to subscribe!!! Twitter/BlueSky: @andyhermannfl If you’d like to support my channel, please donate to: PayPal: https://paypal.me/andyhermannfl Venmo: @Andrew_Herman Email: [email protected] Discord: https://t.co/iVVltoB2Hg
AI Insights
WHO Director-General’s remarks at the XVII BRICS Leaders’ Summit, session on Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence – 6 July 2025
Your Excellency President Lula da Silva,
Excellencies, Heads of State, Heads of Government,
Heads of delegation,
Dear colleagues and friends,
Thank you, President Lula, and Brazil’s BRICS Presidency for your commitment to equity, solidarity, and multilateralism.
My intervention will focus on three key issues: challenges to multilateralism, cuts to Official Development Assistance, and the role of AI and other digital tools.
First, we are facing significant challenges to multilateralism.
However, there was good news at the World Health Assembly in May.
WHO’s Member States demonstrated their commitment to international solidarity through the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement. South Africa co-chaired the negotiations, and I would like to thank South Africa.
It is time to finalize the next steps.
We ask the BRICS to complete the annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing so that the Agreement is ready for ratification at next year’s World Health Assembly. Brazil is co-chairing the committee, and I thank Brazil for their leadership.
Second, are cuts to Official Development Assistance.
Compounding the chronic domestic underinvestment and aid dependency in developing countries, drastic cuts to foreign aid have disrupted health services, costing lives and pushing millions into poverty.
The recent Financing for Development conference in Sevilla made progress in key areas, particularly in addressing the debt trap that prevents vital investments in health and education.
Going forward, it is critical for countries to mobilize domestic resources and foster self-reliance to support primary healthcare as the foundation of universal health coverage.
Because health is not a cost to contain, it’s an investment in people and prosperity.
Third, is AI and other digital tools.
Planning for the future of health requires us to embrace a digital future, including the use of artificial intelligence. The future of health is digital.
AI has the potential to predict disease outbreaks, improve diagnosis, expand access, and enable local production.
AI can serve as a powerful tool for equity.
However, it is crucial to ensure that AI is used safely, ethically, and equitably.
We encourage governments, especially BRICS, to invest in AI and digital health, including governance and national digital public infrastructure, to modernize health systems while addressing ethical, safety, and equity issues.
WHO will be by your side every step of the way, providing guidance, norms, and standards.
Excellencies, only by working together through multilateralism can we build a healthier, safer, and fairer world for all.
Thank you. Obrigado.
-
Funding & Business6 days agoKayak and Expedia race to build AI travel agents that turn social posts into itineraries
-
Jobs & Careers6 days ago
Mumbai-based Perplexity Alternative Has 60k+ Users Without Funding
-
Mergers & Acquisitions6 days ago
Donald Trump suggests US government review subsidies to Elon Musk’s companies
-
Funding & Business6 days ago
Rethinking Venture Capital’s Talent Pipeline
-
Jobs & Careers6 days ago
Why Agentic AI Isn’t Pure Hype (And What Skeptics Aren’t Seeing Yet)
-
Funding & Business4 days ago
Sakana AI’s TreeQuest: Deploy multi-model teams that outperform individual LLMs by 30%
-
Funding & Business7 days agoFrom chatbots to collaborators: How AI agents are reshaping enterprise work
-
Jobs & Careers6 days ago
Astrophel Aerospace Raises ₹6.84 Crore to Build Reusable Launch Vehicle
-
Funding & Business4 days ago
HOLY SMOKES! A new, 200% faster DeepSeek R1-0528 variant appears from German lab TNG Technology Consulting GmbH
-
Funding & Business6 days ago
Europe’s Most Ambitious Startups Aren’t Becoming Global; They’re Starting That Way
