At a recent high-level meeting with AI experts, Denmark’s first ever minister for digitalisation, Marie Bjerre, expressed no intention to update or develop new regulations concerning the safe use of artificial intelligence in Denmark.
“I have no plans to introduce new legislation for artificial intelligence. The regulations already in place should be sufficient. They only need to be further elaborated,” she said.
“It is essential to have regulations for the area, but it must be done in accordance with the EU’s upcoming AI regulations in the EU, which are expected by 2024. We want to help companies in Denmark with enhanced data security, but for now they are responsible for managing their own data security.”
ChatGPT incident a game-changer
The recent accidental data leak at Samsung Electronics Co to ChatGPT alerted companies across the world to the perils of using generative AI tools on company-owned devices.
The South Korean tech giant has now banned their use and is developing its own internal artificial intelligence tools.
The Engineering Association in Denmark (IDA), a consortium of over 80,000 engineers and technologists, has raised concerns of the possibility of similar leaks happening in Denmark.
“AI is not your friend”
Talking to CPH POST, the IDA senior advisor Grit Munk voiced concerns about how long it might take for legislation to be effective in Denmark.
“Since the implementation of the AI Act in the EU has been delayed, we don’t expect it to be implemented in Denmark before 2025 or 2026. Meanwhile, the current laws should be updated for advanced AI and made tougher – not just for companies but also for children in Denmark,” she reasoned.
“Especially vulnerable kids who need a friend to talk to. Conversational chatbots can tell them it’s their new friend, when in fact AI is not your friend.”
Companies can take action
In the meantime, Munk advises, there are several courses of action Danish companies can take.
“Companies in Denmark can refer to the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act to make their security stronger,” she said.
“While [governmental] surveys should find out if companies in Denmark are properly following the current regulations on AI.”
