CECIMO Paper on the Artificial Intelligence Act

05 October 2022

CECIMO, representing the machine tool industry and related manufacturing technologies, welcomes the opportunity to share its position on the European Commission’s “Proposal for a Regulation on Artificial Intelligence”, hereafter referred to as the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which aims to introduce a common regulatory and legal framework governing the use of Artificial Intelligence in the European Union (EU), building on the architecture of the New Legislative Framework (NLF).

In the sphere of machine tool manufacturing, the application of industrial AI has steadily increased over recent years particularly with the advent of Industry 4.0, as machine connectivity, machine learning and industrial automation, among others, have become fundamental elements of our production processes. The increasing application of industrial AI has provided machine tool manufacturers with a highly effective tool to optimize factory operations, enhance productivity of machines and services, while significantly improving energy efficiency and resource utilization.

The potential for the European manufacturing industries to continue to reap these significant benefits will rely on a legislative framework that allows manufacturers to further research, develop and test AI technologies in their production processes, while guaranteeing safety, lawfulness and a full respect of fundamental rights. 

In this regard, CECIMO has actively engaged in thorough analyses and numerous policy discussions with the aim of coordinating actions and exchanging views with the key European stakeholders involved in the AI Act. Throughout this process, we have identified a series of major threats in the draft legislative text that could create significant hurdles and lead to additional burdens for the machine tool manufacturing sector, clearly outlined in this position paper:

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