Real-time, remote biometric monitoring has been outlawed by the European Parliament, making it impossible for police departments around the EU to employ live facial recognition technology. Legislators had earlier approved the restriction after confronting early resistance over worries that it would be overly broad.
The restriction might put the parliamentarians in conflict with EU countries which would rather heavily implement the technology for policing.
The decision also includes further restrictions on general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) and so-called fundamental models, such OpenAI’s GPT-4. Regardless of their intended use, the law mandates that businesses like OpenAI Inc. and Google do risk assessments and give descriptions of the copyrighted content used to train their models.
Roberta Metsola, the president of the parliament, stated during a news conference that any upcoming advancements in artificial intelligence would need to be subject to consistent, clearly stated rules and constraints.
“There is one thing that we will not compromise on: Anytime technology advances, it must go hand in hand with our fundamental rights and democratic values,” he added.
On June 14, the AI Act’s whole draft was approved by a resounding majority. 499 delegates voted in favor, 28 voted against, and 93 did not participate in the voting. The vote kicks off what is known as the “trilogue” round of discussions amongst the parliament members, where the finer points of the measure will be finalized.
According to Bloomberg, the EU Commission is aiming for a deal by the end of the year, meaning the new AI Act regulations could affect businesses as soon as 2026.
However, according to Brando Benifei, one of the primary writers of the measure, some regulations may be put into place much earlier.
In the meanwhile, representatives from the EU, notably Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, are working to develop a voluntary code of conduct with G7 digital corporations that also includes countries like India and Indonesia.
Facial scanning in public places would be authorized for specific law-enforcement scenarios under an earlier agreement reached by EU member states at the end of last year. This issue will continue to be a sticking point for a number of EU member states in the next discussions.
People’s Party members who lean farther to the right petitioned to add exceptions to the rule, such as in cases of looking for missing children and stopping terrorist acts. But in the resounding vote earlier this month, legislators mostly ignored these arguments.
“The result of today gives us even a stronger position. It’s clear that the parliament doesn’t want us to recede on such important topics, on avoiding mass surveillance,” said Benifei.
Concerns
In its report (pdf), the European Parliamentary Research Service describes how AI technology such as facial recognition could be problematic in terms of personal freedom.
“While there are real benefits to using facial recognition systems for public safety and security, their pervasiveness and intrusiveness, as well as their susceptibility to error, give rise to a number of fundamental rights concerns with regard, for instance, to discrimination against certain segments of the population and violations of the right to data protection and privacy,” the report states.
The AI Act was first proposed in 2021 (pdf), and was initially touted as a risk-based approach that would effectively regulate the application of AI rather than the actual technology itself. The proposal would have banned practices like social credit scoring and the implementation of technologies that would likely have negative impacts in terms of bias, discrimination, and citizens’ fundamental rights.
The drive to include general-purpose AI in the act, which would apply to a considerably larger range of circumstances, was instead led by EU member states.
According to reports, members of the European Parliament went a step further by putting restrictions to “foundational models.” This refers to the substantial language models that underlie chatbots like ChatGPT, which have recently been under intense public and official attention.
In a statement, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said he expects clear and proportionate rules on generative AI to be focal points of the trilogue process.
“We need effective transparency requirements on AI-generated content and strict rules against ‘deep fakes,’” he said.
The scope of the new EU legislation may have significant effects on a market that is now pegged at close to $1.5 trillion in value. If they don’t comply, businesses might be subject to hefty fines of up to 6% of their annual income.
In a disturbing twist to last week’s targeted violence against Minnesota officials, sources reveal that a conspiratorial letter left behind by shooting suspect Vance Boelter accuses Governor Tim Walz of orchestrating a political assassination plot. The letter, addressed to the FBI, allegedly claims Walz instructed Boelter to kill U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar so that Walz could seek her Senate seat—a position he has not expressed any intent to pursue.
Two individuals with direct knowledge of the letter described it as incoherent, one and a half pages long, and filled with paranoid ramblings. The letter allegedly outlines unsubstantiated claims that Boelter was trained “off the books” by the U.S. military, and that Walz had enlisted him to assassinate Klobuchar and potentially other politicians, including a veiled reference to Sen. Tina Smith.
Federal prosecutors say Boelter left the letter in a Buick abandoned near his home in Green Isle, Minnesota. It is believed to include a confession to the killings of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well as the shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
Boelter, 57, now faces federal charges including:
Two counts of stalking Rep. Hortman and Sen. Hoffman using interstate facilities;
Two counts of murder in the deaths of the Hortmans;
Two counts of firearm use in the shootings of the Hortmans and Hoffmans.
While federal authorities declined to comment on the letter’s contents, local officials addressed the severity of the situation. Hennepin County Attorney’s Office spokesperson Daniel Borgertpoepping stated they could not comment on an open investigation, but added, “We have seen no evidence that the allegations regarding Governor Walz are based in fact.”
Gov. Walz’s spokesman, Teddy Tschann, called the events “deeply disturbing for all Minnesotans” and praised law enforcement and prosecutors for their swift actions.
Sen. Klobuchar issued a strong response, saying, “Boelter is a very dangerous man and I am deeply grateful that law enforcement got him behind bars before he killed other people.”
Documents obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune also reveal that Boelter held a valid carry license as recently as 2020, issued while he was still affiliated with his family’s private security firm.
With more details likely to surface as the investigation unfolds, the letter marks a chilling insight into Boelter’s delusions—and highlights the growing threats facing public officials.
A new study from the MIT Media Lab has raised concerns about the long-term effects of using artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT on human cognition. The research, released this month, suggests that relying on large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT could impair an individual’s critical thinking abilities, especially with prolonged use.
Researchers observed participants over several months as they completed SAT-style essay assignments. The subjects were divided into three groups: one using ChatGPT, another using Google’s search engine, and a third group relying solely on their own thinking—dubbed the “brain-only” group.
To analyze brain activity during the writing tasks, researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor neural engagement across different regions of the brain. The results showed a stark difference in cognitive involvement among the groups.
According to the study, those using ChatGPT demonstrated the lowest level of brain engagement. Over time, these participants began to rely more heavily on the AI, eventually moving from asking structural questions to simply copying and pasting complete essays. The researchers noted that this group “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.”
Participants who used Google showed moderate brain activity, while the “brain-only” group displayed the strongest and most widespread neural activity, indicating deeper cognitive involvement throughout the writing process.
The study’s lead author, Nataliya Kosmyna, emphasized the urgency of the findings, particularly as AI tools become more integrated into education.
“What really motivated me to put it out now before waiting for a full peer review is that I am afraid in 6–8 months, there will be some policymaker who decides, ‘let’s do GPT kindergarten.’ I think that would be absolutely bad and detrimental,” Kosmyna told Time
magazine. “Developing brains are at the highest risk.”
The study highlights growing concerns among educators about how easily accessible AI tools are enabling academic dishonesty and changing how students learn. Despite these concerns, AI integration in classrooms appears to be accelerating.
In April, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting the use of AI in American schools. The policy aims to prepare young students for a future economy shaped by AI advancements.
“The basic idea of this executive order is to ensure that we properly train the workforce of the future by ensuring that school children, young Americans, are adequately trained in AI tools, so that they can be competitive in the economy years from now into the future, as AI becomes a bigger and bigger deal,” White House staff secretary Will Scharf said at the time.
As the debate over AI’s role in education continues, this new research may fuel broader discussions on how to balance technological innovation with cognitive development—especially for younger generations.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Former Los Angeles Mayor and current California gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa has publicly alleged that Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra were involved in concealing former President Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline during his time in office.
Villaraigosa, a Democrat, made the claim amid a heated California gubernatorial race. Becerra, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, is also a candidate, while speculation continues over a potential Harris bid. The race comes as current Governor Gavin Newsom reaches the end of his second and final term, per California’s two-term limit.
In a statement referencing recent reporting and excerpts from the book Original Sin, Villaraigosa stated:
“What I’ve seen in news coverage and excerpts from the new book ‘Original Sin’ is deeply troubling. At the highest levels of our government, those in power were intentionally complicit or told outright lies in a systematic cover up to keep Joe Biden’s mental decline from the public.”
Both Harris and Becerra previously served as California Attorney General. Villaraigosa emphasized their past leadership roles, stating:
“Now, we have come to learn this cover up includes two prominent California politicians who served as California Attorney General – one who is running for Governor and another who is thinking about running for Governor.”
He added:
“Those who were complicit in the cover up should take responsibility for the part they played in this debacle, hold themselves accountable, and apologize to the American people. I call on Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra to do just that – and make themselves available to voters and the free press because there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered.”
Becerra responded in a statement, saying:
“It’s clear the President was getting older, but he made the mission clear: run the largest health agency in the world, expand care to millions more Americans than ever before, negotiate down the cost of prescription drugs, and pull us out of a world-wide pandemic. And we delivered.”
Kamala Harris has not issued a public response. Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to the offices of Harris and the Bidens but had not received a reply at the time of publication.
The allegations come as discussions about Biden’s cognitive and physical health continue. Earlier this month, during an appearance on The View, Biden dismissed claims of cognitive decline during his presidency.
In related developments, Biden’s personal office recently confirmed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer characterized by a high Gleason score and metastasis to the bone.
Villaraigosa’s comments are the latest in a growing list of concerns raised within the Democratic Party about leadership transparency and accountability in the final years of the Biden administration.
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