Next steps for AI regulation in Brazil

In 2021, Brazil published its Artificial Intelligence Strategy (or EBIA, for its Portuguese acronym). Criticized for being too broad and doing little to effectively organize government action on the issue, the EBIA was soon followed by bills aimed at regulating the matter. 

The most notable of the proposals, Bill 21/2020, proposes a principles-based regulation without specific provisions regarding rights and obligations. It also states that further regulation of AI must be limited to cases of absolute necessity and must always be preceded by a regulatory impact assessment. 

In addition, the draft includes provisions for public authorities to encourage the implementation of AI systems, such as promoting the interoperability of AI systems used in the public sector and encouraging investment in research and development for the use of AI in the public and private sectors.

Concerned that the project was moving too fast and was not robust enough to address the concerns raised by AI, the Senate formed a committee of legal experts to draft a replacement proposal. The group, led by Judge Ricardo Villas Boas Cueva of the Superior Justice Tribunal, worked throughout 2022 and presented a report in December, along with a new text for what would later become Bill 2338.

This second...