The European Parliament passed a law limiting the use of AI in many instances. Here’s one scenario that could save your wallet and your peace of mind.
The EU’s New AI Law and Your Wallet in the Store
European Parliament lawmakers passed the world’s first law regulating Artificial Intelligence. The law was accepted by a 523-46 vote. After final technical and linguistic reviews, the bill will come into force, possibly as early as May 2024.
The legislation is important for protecting the privacy of individuals, but there is one way in which the AI law is vital for consumers. And it will affect you every time you walk in a store.
Storefront AI
When you walk in a store, an analog system, like a bell, would ring and a shop assistant would greet you and start asking questions, in part to be nice, and in part to find out what to sell to you. If you belong to a company’s rewards program, a ‘smart’ system will pick up who you are from your mobile phone and alert you to sales tailored for you in order to get you to buy, and even tell screens nearby to advertise something just for you.
Now, with an AI system, you walk into the store, and the system detects that it’s you, either by your smart phone or by facial recognition. It picks up physical features – elevated temperature, or that you are thirsty – even if you don’t notice these things yourself. The advertising screens start proposing drinks. Stain on your shirt? Stain remover. Tear on your shirt? New shirt.
Speaking of shirts – that one you put back the last time you were in and the cameras didn’t pick up the motion – that’s in the AI system, too. So, now you could be flagged as a person of interest for shoplifting. Emotion recognition systems do not wonder why you are nervous – only that you match the parameters of a person who is nervous. Does your perceived nervousness lead to a hint that it’s time to buy chocolate, or to a ‘friendly’ visit from a sales associate?
You could walk out with a load of things you did not expect to buy, and that you might not even need, or worse. The level of intrusion that these systems can bring goes far beyond a simple bell on a door.
Opting in for AI
There’s no doubt that AI could be useful, for example when replacing that stained and torn shirt. Systems that match clothing with your complexion, where you give you OK for the system to scan you – in other words, when you opt in, will be allowed. Doing so without your permission after the law is finalized, though, could cost the store up to 38 million Euro!
