According to Wired Italia, the AI Pact, spearheaded by the European Commission, is a voluntary initiative designed to bridge the gap between current AI development and the forthcoming AI Act, slated to take full effect in 2025. This pact is targeted at high-risk AI systems, focusing on key principles such as transparency, risk management, and accountability. The primary objective is to create a framework that encourages companies to adopt responsible AI practices ahead of the legally binding AI Act. However, the pact has raised a number of concerns, particularly because it lacks legal enforceability and relies on companies’ voluntary adherence to its 18 proposed commitments, which emphasize ethical use, transparency, and the mitigation of harm in AI technologies.

A critical issue identified is that the pact’s voluntary nature risks undermining its effectiveness. Many commitments within the pact are not mandatory, and this optional nature of compliance could allow companies to simply treat it as a public relations opportunity, projecting an image of responsibility without fundamentally changing their practices. Critics argue that this might delay true accountability until the AI Act becomes law. Given the rapid advancement of AI technologies, critics are wary that the pact may serve more as a temporary solution or marketing tool rather than a substantial move towards the robust governance needed to regulate potentially harmful or high-risk AI applications.

Supporters of the AI Pact, however, view it as a necessary step to prepare companies for the upcoming legislation and to promote a culture of self-regulation in an industry that is often difficult to police. By encouraging early compliance with the values and principles that will soon be codified in law, the pact provides an opportunity for businesses to position themselves as proactive leaders in the ethical AI space.

Nonetheless, the debate centers around whether voluntary commitments are sufficient, particularly in an environment where competitive pressures may push companies towards rapid AI innovation without fully considering safety or ethics. The European Commission hopes that the AI Pact will act as a bridge, smoothing the transition towards the mandatory requirements of the AI Act, but whether it will achieve this goal or remain a largely symbolic gesture remains to be seen.

The AI Pact represents an effort by the EU to establish global leadership in AI governance by promoting responsible AI usage. However, it also highlights the challenges in enforcing such guidelines without mandatory legal mechanisms and the potential for voluntary initiatives to fall short of ensuring meaningful industry-wide compliance.