‘AI should be used where it can really differentiate a competitive economy’ (with Luís Neto Galvão)

«At the event with the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Competitiveness of the Portuguese Economy’, Luís Neto Galvão (chairman of ICC Portugal's Digital Economy Committee and partner at SRS Legal) spoke about the EU AI Act and explained what can go right and wrong in the application of this legislation. ‘The regulation emphasises and focuses on the security of applications and their impact on individuals,’ but its application, particularly in Portugal, could result in challenges for “a multiplicity of entities”, since there will be a “notifying authority, a market surveillance authority and national authorities”. He recalled that in Portugal alone, there will be ‘fourteen entities, coordinated by ANACOM’, checking the application of the European regulation. On the other hand, at national level, ‘in terms of governance, there often tends to be little coordination between the various regulatory bodies,’ warned Luís Neto Galvão. On the positive side, he emphasised the fact that manufacturers ‘will have to create an instruction manual’ for using the application and that ‘those who implement it will have to apply these rules accordingly’, as well as the obligation to ‘carry out impact assessments on fundamental rights’. He also mentioned measures to support innovation such as ‘regulatory sandboxes’, i.e. ‘controlled environments for development, training, risk identification, testing and validation’ of AI solutions and services, which will be freely accessible to SMEs and start-ups. These could boost the European and national economy, although he expressed concern that the implementation of these testing environments ‘is lagging behind in Portugal’.»