The European Commission has published a code of conduct for the marking and labelling of content created by artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of the entry into force of transparency obligations under the EU's AI Act.
"Europeans have a right to know whether what they see, hear or read has been made or altered by AI, especially when such content can shape public debate," European Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen said on Wednesday.
"Transparency is how we protect trust," she added.
Under the AI Act, deepfakes and AI-generated texts on matters of public interest will have to be labelled, and users will have to be informed when they interact with an AI system, like a chatbot, the commission said.
The rules will apply from August 2.
The code of conduct addresses providers and deployers of generative AI systems.
For providers, the code explains "how to ensure that AI-generated or AI-manipulated audio, images, video or text are marked in a machine-readable way and can be detected as artificially generated or manipulated," the commission said.
For deployers, the document clarifies how to "clearly label deepfakes and AI-generated or AI-manipulated text published to inform the public on matters of public interest when there has been no human review or editorial control."
"I invite them to adhere to the Code and to show leadership in developing and deploying AI that is responsible and trustworthy," Virkkunen said.
