The critical factor is that another, much larger piece of legislation, called simply the EU AI Act, is just about to kick in, and regulators wanted to see how that enforcement went before expanding it. “They want to see how these other pieces of the framework are going to work. There are a lot of moving parts so (delaying) is wise.”
Another analyst, Anshel Sag, VP and principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, said that EU members are very concerned with how they are perceived globally.
“The real challenge is that applying regulations too early, without the industry being mature enough, risks hurting European companies and European competitiveness, which I believe is a major factor in why these regulations have been paused for now,” Sag said. “Especially when you consider the current rate of change within AI, there’s just a chance that they could spend a long time on this regulation and by the time it’s out, it’s already well out of date. They will have to act fast, though, when the time is right.”
