The government of Italy approved this Tuesday a decree that foresees prison sentences of one to five years for anyone who causes “unjust harm” with the use of systems Artificial intelligence (IA) and which includes an endowment of one billion euros to support the development of start-ups in the sector.
“Whoever spreads videos or images altered with AI without consentcausing unjust harm, will be punished with imprisonment of one to five years,” said the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, at the press conference after the Council of Ministers.
The project must be approved by Parliament, where the right-wing coalition that presides Giorgia Meloni has an absolute majority. The standard is about bring order to a sector with multiple fields of application whose potential and implications are yet to be explored, according to the Executive.
The text, which also requires parental consent for the registration of minors under 14 years of age in systems such as chatbots, stipulates that AI must be developed and applied respecting human autonomy and the power of decision. Furthermore, it should not undermine the democratic conduct of institutional and political life.
The essential condition is that cybersecurity is guaranteed, while in the case of information, the intention is that AI systems are used “without prejudice to the freedom and pluralism of the mediafreedom of expression, objectivity, exhaustiveness, impartiality and loyalty of information,” according to local media.
“We try to take advantage of the opportunity of AI both in the organization of the offices and in the investigation, without conditioning the magistrates, or replacing human intelligence with artificial intelligence,” indicated Nordio. Likewise, he explained that “a aggravating circumstance” for those who use AI in a “deceptive” way.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Companies and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, has stressed that “The goal is to create a fair, open and usable artificial intelligence market.” “We must involve SMEs in the challenging AI innovation process,” he added.
“The measure 1,000 million euros from the innovation fund to venture capital to facilitate the birth and growth of start-ups that operate in the sector. And then allow the birth of a national leader in the sector, as other countries are doing. These are the first resources, then we will see the other needs,” she concluded.
