[Brussels, 10 December 2023, contact [email protected]] Allied for Startups welcomes policymakers’ ambition to create the first AI legislative framework. The final agreement, however, has differed enormously from the European Commission’s initial risk-based approach, which promised to allow for startup innovation to thrive.

Speaking about the agreement, Allied for Startups EU Director, Inés Moreno-Alonso said: “While we applaud policymakers’ willingness to create a harmonised framework for AI and the promotion of regulatory sandboxes, startup communities remain concerned about the last-minute obligations on general-purpose AI (GPAI) models, which will affect startups’ ability to create and employ them.” 

Whilst the agreement foresees the creation of a more centralised governance framework on AI that would allow startups to be represented within the advisory forum, it also includes additional obligations for GPAI model providers using data, including copyrighted data, to train AI models will be unworkable for startups in practice. 

Moreno-Alonso commented about these changes: “The agreement significantly veers away from the Commission’s prudent risk-based approach and now favours rigid rules over innovation. The final text particularly increases compliance costs for startups, which have fewer resources than established players, as it creates demanding responsibilities for developers of GPAI models, potentially hampering innovation. ”

Given the amount of work still needed to fine-tune the agreed text, Allied for Startups will continue to engage constructively with policymakers and advocate for startups and scale-ups’ voices to be heard until the work at technical level resolves. 

Allied for Startups is a worldwide network of over 40 advocacy organisations focused on improving the policy environment for startups. Our mission is to ensure that the voices of startups are heard in government. For more information on Allied for Startups including a full list of our network, visit the website at www.alliedforstartups.org