Technology and Science09 October, 20262 min read
Henna Virkkunen Says EU Can Fend Off Rogue AI Risk Under AI Act
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EU AI Act is capable of fending off rogue AI risks. Act covers the full lifecycle of AI models.
7 outlets told this the same way.
EU backs AI guardrails
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the European Union can fend off rogue AI risk, telling Reuters that "We see that the safety and security of very capable models is a very hot topic internationally and we in Europe are well equipped for that." Virkkunen said the EU’s AI Act, adopted two years ago, "covers the whole life cycle of these models," and she dismissed criticism that the bloc’s rules are outdated. Virkkunen said the European Commission requested information in late August from more than 30 AI companies about safety and security measures, and she said she is now assessing the responses.
Virkkunen said regulators are providing guidance to companies on how to evaluate their models, factoring in recommendations from 60 AI experts. Cointelegraph reported Sept.13 that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the speed of AI development is too fast and that left unchecked it may "outrun our ability to understand and control these systems."
Commission requests and fines
Virkkunen told Reuters that the EU’s AI Act regulates use "based on the level of risk," and she said the rules are "more than capable of tackling rogue agents." Virkkunen said regulators are providing guidance on how to evaluate models and how much time to allocate, and she said the process would factor in recommendations from a scientific panel of 60 AI experts. Reuters said the European Commission sent requests for information in late August to more than 30 AI companies, and Reuters said such requests can lead to investigations that could result in fines of as much as 7% of a company’s global annual turnover.
Virkkunen said the Commission did not name the companies it approached, and she said she is now assessing the responses. Virkkunen said the Commission also sent requests for information to Chinese AI startups, and she said the most capable models now in the markets are from the United States and China.
Risk, oversight, and funding
Virkkunen told Reuters that legislators and decision makers have been taking into account how risks have to be assessed and that external experts have to be used and monitoring has to continue. Virkkunen said the European Commission followed up with questions about transparency and copyright obligations after the late August information requests. Virkkunen said the decision on whether to impose a digital levy would fall mainly on big US tech companies is in the court of EU governments discussing new sources of financing for the EU budget for 2028 to 2034.
The News International said Virkkunen weighed in on whether Europe is ready for rogue AI, and it quoted her saying, "We see that the safety and security of very capable models is a very hot topic internationally and we in Europe are well equipped for that." The Economic Times shifted the focus to data security at Big Four firm EY, saying EY had to notify regulators in four US jurisdictions, California, Texas, Massachusetts and Vermont, about a 2026 data breach.