Ibán García del Blanco (León, 1977) was the only Spanish MEP in the 40-hour confinement that led two weeks ago to the agreement on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence. The specific details of the final text will be polished in the coming weeks, but the socialist politician defends that a more than good balance was achieved between maximalist positions: some said that it opens the door to massive technological racism and others that any regulation will leave us feet from China or the US.

They arrived at the room, at the last trilogues, with apparently irreconcilable positions.. There was a shared feeling among the MEPs, but also in the Council, that we necessarily had to reach an agreement, but we did not know very well how, because it is true that even in the previous meetings among ourselves there were differences on fundamental points and on The agenda had a good number of serious controversies without any progress. We didn't know how but we knew that we had to do everything necessary to not leave it hanging. And it turned out well. The legislative proposal came out years ago, it was languishing, but Chat GTP revolutionized everything. Parliament has been with this rule for five years in one way or another. With the first proposal of ethical principles applied to AI, reports from rapporteurs, the Special Committee on AI, own work with the Commission's proposal.. He was very, very mature and we thought that there was little left to scratch politically, it was time to make a move.. The Council knew that it had to be done in the Spanish Presidency, which has done the technical work, had the experts, a lot of effort with the capitals. With all this negotiation process, we all knew that it would be very difficult with another presidency, especially the informal part, which cannot be transmitted from one place to another.. We had the shared thought that it was now or never. And it is true that it was very difficult not only because of external pressure, from China or the US, but because the sector needs regulation as soon as possible.. The vacatio legis will be long, the implementation will last a few years and no longer could be expected. Everything has been very atypical in this regulation. It is substantial to the matter. The regulatory challenge that AI has is that this technology is in full evolution and growth, there is a dimension that cannot be identified, the epitome is the foundational models. When talking to experts last year and before, very expert experts, they told us that it was a development that we would see in four or five years. And suddenly it exploded and surprised us all.. So we had to adapt. With the foundational models, a tailor-made suit has been made, the general regulation is made on the use and the anticipation of risk, but in the foundational models it is more of a structure of technology by power, which has nothing to do with anything.. It has been complicated. It was the fifth trilogue and we have broken the EU duration record. And in the last phase, the largest governments in the Union change their mind and emerge as defenders of self-regulation. The paradox arises that those who reacted first with the explosion of the GTP Chats and with the most force have also been those who have modified. There is a fallacious dichotomy about regulation and development, as if they were contradictory. Both China and the US are at the forefront of this technology without Europe having a single standard to regulate.. Leadership has to do with investment, medium and long-term strategic approach. In Europe, cooperation between all Member States is essential. We have taken many precautions so that regulation does not create any type of barrier to the development of the models.. And we have studied case by case, differentiating between systemic risks, where regulation must be very strict, and models that are in full growth and do not apply or generate the same risks.. But I would say more. If one takes a look at the Chinese regulations, it is very similar in what affects the founding models to what the Parliament proposed, which has finally, in general terms, been approved.. Biden's executive order is even more ambitious in some ways. The question of whether we win or lose the AI race will have nothing to do with regulation, which is a sine qua non for respect for the rule of law.. What is the result of the agreement? Both sides were trying to safeguard public interests from different angles. Behind the search to relax prohibitions or requirements on the use of technology is the need for states and governments to anticipate crimes, identify victims, and national security issues.. It can be understood, but I think that Parliament very correctly opted for fundamental and individual rights as the ultimate touchstone.. And we have reached a balance. What was intolerable, the use of these technologies, and even more so when it is from public power, the red lines have not been crossed.. The final rule is much more similar to what the Parliament proposed than the Council. National security is a matter for the States but it could not have that inflationary tone as the Council sometimes said. Parliament wanted to frame what corresponds and what fits into national security, it cannot be a mixed bag. And when we have accepted exceptions, it is always with a prior analysis of the previous fundamental rights, judicial authorization, demands and guarantees.. Citizens can rest assured.
What is completely prohibited? subliminal manipulation. For example, classifying an entire population as having a 'weakness characteristic' and making segmented advertising that influences, especially minors or people with disabilities.. The use of emotion recognition in work or education is prohibited, because it was intended to control exams, for example.. It is prohibited to anticipate the commission of crimes, as if it were a dystopia like Minority Report. And remote biometric recognition by public authorities is generally prohibited, with some exceptions.. Because of that power, because of that intrusive capacity, its use will be prohibited.. We have generated certainty and security so that an operator can invest in good conditions in Europe and the citizen can rest assured, their rights remain safe.. How do you know that what was approved today will not be obsolete in six months, seeing the explosion that was Chart GTP? We cannot know, no one can, but we want to anticipate. We have some certainty that it seems unlikely that it will be in the near future. Furthermore, regulation is flexible and can be useful in any environment, because it is based on risk and technology.. Either something arises from the brutal and differential power that the founding models have had or it would be within the parameters. If that happens, we would have to meet again, we are aware that there will be trial and error.. And a permanent council is planned so that there is a dialogue with the administration and the sector, in defense of consumers.. And a European AI Office that should provide know-how on how it evolves. While finalizing the agreement, activists denounced its capitulation, the approval of technology that establishes racism, official big brother. It's understandable. In the face of a technology that almost entails a potential civilizational change in itself, I understand that the alarms go off and the approaches are inflationary, maximalist.. Each part plays a role, the technology sector practically said that if even half a standard were applied, in Europe we would be with sticks and stones against computers. Both positions are absolutely radical but necessary to generate a game of balance that helps us politically to find a virtuous point. What must be clear is that we have not placed shackles that will prevent sufficient technological development. There is a balance, also so that in case of real urgency, of compelling need, we do not have our hands tied behind our backs and we can react, for example to a terrorist danger. With all the safeguards, but it is possible.

This scandal lacks nothing. A conservative Republican politician accused of rape in Florida, alleged recordings of threesomes circulating, lesbian relations of an ultra-conservative involved in campaigns against the LGBT community and two million dollars on the table in exchange for a resignation that even the all-powerful governor of Florida is asking for , Ron DeSantis.

The protagonists of this rugged equation are Bridget and Christian Ziegler, a power couple, as they define in the United States a fusion with such power of influence in the political spheres, who from being on the crest of the wave is fully immersed in the mission. to safeguard his battered reputation. He was elected in early 2023 to chair the Republican Party in Florida and she is the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group in favor of censoring books and against discussing topics such as homosexuality and racial diversity in class..

They moved like fish in water in an increasingly Republican state until in November Ziegler was accused of rape by a woman whom the couple had invited to have a threesome.. The idea was to carry it out on October 2, but the woman decided to cancel at the last minute, sending a text message in which she acknowledged that her main interest was her and not him.. The president of the Republicans did not seem to accept the rejection at all well because, according to the lawsuit, the woman found him in her apartment, where he abused her..

Ziegler has denied it actively and passively, ensuring that the relationship was consensual.. However, messages on Instagram to which detectives in charge of the case had access show that the politician asked on several occasions what he could do for his alleged victim.. “You caused it. “You can't help me,” she replied.. He insisted on seeing her and talking because they had been friends for more than 20 years, but the complainant refused, “terrified” after the rape..

Bridget Ziegler, a member of the Sarasota County school board, has had to defend herself against accusations of hypocrisy over these consensual threesomes with women despite having vehemently supported the Don't Say Gay law that raised so much dust and that prevents teachers from talk about sexual or gender orientation in classrooms with children up to nine years old in Florida. Her group of “Mothers for Freedom” considers that a kiss between two girls is a “lewd and traumatic” act.. One of them even proposed that homosexual students be separated from the rest, including young people with autism and Down syndrome.

Members of the Sarasota school board have asked for her resignation but she has refused despite a vote by her colleagues, a dismissal that only Governor DeSantis could execute.. Her husband, for his part, is in a similar situation, pressured by members of his party and by DeSantis himself to abandon the presidency in the southern state.. For now, he has been suspended from employment and salary.

There are those who believe that Ziegler is looking for a way out in exchange for a compensation of two million dollars, a strategy that his training colleagues consider unviable.. “The first thing I did was laugh when I heard it, and so did the person who told me what was being discussed or asked. There will never be a buyout,” Michael Thompson, leader of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee, told The Washington Post.

Despite having praised Ziegler's work at a rally on November 4 and posing together for photographers, President Donald Trump has remained silent in recent weeks while DeSantis, his main political rival in the primaries, condemned the Ziegler actions. His resignation and replacement could be a key issue ahead of next year's presidential elections.

“They evacuated us all, it was terrible, there were many police officers everywhere yelling at us with machine guns to flee”. Klára, a student at Charles University in Prague, describes to local media iDNES the terrifying experience she experienced moments after a man began shooting at those who were at the educational center, in the center of Prague..

The attack leaves 15 dead, including the attacker, who was “eliminated” and dozens of wounded. The university students protected themselves as best they could, as videos shared on social networks showed.. One of the most striking images is that of a group of students who went outside the building through the windows and crouched on one of the narrow ledges of the building, at the risk of falling into the void.. Meanwhile, the shooter used a long gun to spread terror.

“Currently stuck inside my class in Prague. The shooter is dead, but we are waiting to be evacuated. Praying to get out alive. I locked the door before the handle tried to open it. Damn hell,” shared in X the student Jakob Weizman, who used chairs and tables against the door to barricade himself in one of the classrooms.

The shooting that occurred this Thursday is the most tragic in the history of the Czech Republic in terms of the number of victims. In 2015, eight people were killed in Uherské Brod and in 2019, six people were killed in a shooting at a hospital in Ostrava.

Petr Nedoma, director of a local art gallery across from Jan Palach Square, witnessed the moment the gunman fired the shots with an automatic weapon.. “I saw a young man who had a gun in his hand, like an automatic weapon, and he was shooting towards the Manes Bridge,” he told Czech television.. “He fired repeatedly, with some interruptions. “Then I saw how he raised his hands and threw the gun into the street, which remained there in the pedestrian crossing.”

The magnitude of what happened, in an EU country, where these types of events are not common, has unleashed reactions of solidarity with the victims and has caused shock among the political class.. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was “deeply shocked” by the attack in the capital of the country he governs..

Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda told Czech media: “We always thought this was something we were not worried about.. Now it turns out that, unfortunately, our world is also changing and the problem of the individual shooter is also arising here.”

For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also said she was “dismayed by the senseless violence” and expressed her condolences to the families of the victims and the Czech nation.

“The attack in Prague hits Europe in the heart. We mourn. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of the victims,” shared German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock..

EU leaders, such as Emmanuel Macron, Georgia Meloni, Olaf Scholz and Charles Michel, joined in the condolences.. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wished “a speedy recovery to the injured.”.

The attack occurs in the middle of the high season in Prague, which at this time is full of tourists who come to visit its numerous Christmas markets.. Tom Leese, 34, and his wife Rachael, 31, were on their honeymoon in the Czech capital. They were having a drink near Charles University, where the massacre took place, when a police officer ran in and started “screaming loudly” in Czech, they told the PA agency.. “I asked in English and they told me there was an active shooter and to stay inside and stay low,” Tom said.. “The staff were very calm, they turned off all the lights quickly and urged us to stay calm, the restaurant was relatively quiet”. “Obviously, now we are looking forward to returning home,” he added..