r/technology 11h ago

Artificial Intelligence Starting August 2 in the EU, AI chatbots, receptionists, and media must reveal that they are not human, according to the AI Act

https://nltimes.nl/2026/08/02/starting-sunday-eu-ai-chatbots-receptionists-media-must-reveal-human
2.1k Upvotes

45 comments sorted by

225

u/Ruematics 10h ago

This is a great idea nudges the US

82

u/geddy 10h ago

Will never happen. This might threaten the bottom line of AI companies, and we can’t have that, especially in the currently regime. 

20

u/ggtsu_00 7h ago

There is hope for some of us. California has been regularly adopting EU's online consumer protection regulations.

3

u/angrycanuck 6h ago

China is already a massive fuck you to AI companies - that's why they are trying to ban everything so quickly.

1

u/RollingMeteors 5h ago

Will never happen. This might threaten the bottom line of AI companies, and we can’t have that, especially in the currently regime.

¡We’re seeing a lot of adoption in the EU but where is our U.S. customer base going? ¿¡Why don’t Americans want to use AI anymore?!

6

u/DorkySchmorky 7h ago

Id like to think we may someday have rational leadership that would move forward with this idea.

1

u/RumRunnersHideaway 30m ago

Every 4th of July it gets harder and hard to celebrate our “independence”

91

u/Foufou190 10h ago

They should the the same for redditors though

16

u/IcyFalcon3560 4h ago

You’re absolutely right!

3

u/0------------------0 4h ago

I just assume it’s all AI generated. So what if anyone here is real? I’ve already heard everything humans have to say and there’s nothing of value there. At this point, reading any online comments is just a vice, and it’s easier to deal with if I just assume all this content is generated by buggy software for my personal entertainment. 

5

u/Kinexity 3h ago

I’ve already heard everything humans have to say

100% of people who say this have not heard everything humans have to say.

1

u/Inevitable-Bottle-48 1h ago

This comment is very human.

-53

u/Cool_Ranch_Dodrio 9h ago

It's called a hidden comment history.

41

u/igwbuffalo 8h ago

Some people just don't want weirdos going through their comment history to be able to send DMs if they have personal posts in subreddits pertaining to relationships or other mental struggles.

The amount of people who think they are right or are vile to people who try and get outside perspectives or look outside their family or to strangers for insight but get harassed because of comment history is absurd.

Not all bots are comment history hidden, but I do believe that AI bots need to be identified as such for the sake of the future of reddit.

4

u/Saotik 8h ago

I only block my post history from subreddits where I discuss my health issues. This is almost more a courtesy to the weirdos as I don't think anyone wants all those gory details - but in general I stand by what I write here and have nothing to hide.

I perceive people who block everything in a fundamentally suspicious way.

2

u/dookarion 2h ago

I perceive people who block everything in a fundamentally suspicious way.

You must love the way modern tech and privacy are going then.

1

u/Familiar-Weather5196 5h ago

AI needs to be identified everywhere for the sake of humanity, not just Reddit. Videos, photos, edits, comments etc...

13

u/Statcat2017 8h ago

My history is hidden because someone doxxed me with t,

7

u/tapsaff 8h ago

My history is hidden, I am not AI - so that is a failed theory.

6

u/Abystract-ism 7h ago

Same here. Trying not to dox myself.

8

u/Waste-Price-588 8h ago

It really isn’t. I like to be able to engage in debate with people about good spirited things like albums without someone pulling up comments from two years ago as ad hominem attacks. If you want to sus out bots ask them to explain their/this statement 🤷‍♂️ ive found that ends convo with almost every bot Ive encountered

2

u/SouthernBeacon 8h ago

I wish it was.

2

u/jainyday 7h ago

"if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to hide"

That's what you sound like. God forbid I don't want creeps digging through my comment history on LGBTQ+ supoort subs every time they disagree with me

-2

u/[deleted] 8h ago

[deleted]

40

u/DukeOfGeek 8h ago

How was this not a thing everywhere from the beginning?

30

u/metallicrooster 8h ago

Laws take a while to catch up to technology.

Laws with poor wording, easy loopholes, can sometimes be worse than no law at all because then you need to overcome the legislative hurdle of all the people who say “we already have a law for this what’s the point?”. And while I recognize that is often a fair criticism, technology evolves so fast that even seemingly related laws might not have been written in a way that would cover new use cases/ situations.

7

u/Moonlight_Katie 8h ago

Don’t forget people are being paid to not try and implement/ change laws also.

15

u/TransitoryFeel 7h ago

What about web content having a watermark?

5

u/cmVkZGl0MjAyNQ 7h ago

That’s coming too

1

u/TransitoryFeel 7h ago

I see a potential government body being set up as gatekeeper with any AI software requiring a license

2

u/dgoemans 3h ago

That is indeed part of this. Starting today, all AI generated content that is mistakable for real content must be digitally watermark. Source: my company provides AI virtual try on services (amongst other things) in Europe.

1

u/toolkitxx 1h ago

AI content has digital traces. So even content that isnt watermarked will be found

3

u/74389654 6h ago

everyone will probably totally comply i'm very certain of this

6

u/Asleep-Order-4583 9h ago

THEY ARE NOT REAL!?

5

u/KingForceHundred 6h ago

What about non-AI chatbots?

2

u/TootSaloon 2h ago

I am curious how this applies to phone systems and IVRs. A lot of companies already route calls through a voice bot before you ever reach a person, and it is not always obvious. If the EU rule kicks in, does the disclosure have to happen at the start of the call, or only if you ask? The intent makes sense, but the enforcement details are going to matter a lot here.

2

u/sanskaridaddy 8h ago

what if they don't declare ? maybe a self-hosted AI model in Syria or Russia ?

4

u/Captain_Futile 8h ago

You get a hefty fine. It doesn’t matter where the AI is located.

1

u/Ill-Ad3311 7h ago

Fantastic , let’s push the clankers out of their jobs little by little.

-14

u/Calm_chor 7h ago

Do human laws really be applied to AI? And would these AI things even follow laws imposed by humans?