EU tech tsar Vestager sees political agreement on AI law this year

TAKASAKI (Reuters) - European Union tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday the bloc will likely reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world's first major artificial intelligence (AI) legislation.

This would follow a preliminary deal reached on Thursday on the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act.

In an interview with Reuters at a Group of Seven digital ministers' meeting in Takasaki, Japan, Vestager suggested legislative measures for the use of AI tools, such as "labelling obligations for AI-generated images".

"There was no reason to hesitate and to wait for the legislation to be passed to accelerate the necessary discussions to provide the changes in all the systems where AI will have an enormous influence," she added, when asked about steps before any agreement takes force.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Takasaki, Japan; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by William Mallard)