Palo Alto Networks proudly stands among the first signatories of the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Pact, which was launched on September 25, 2024. This key commitment highlights our leadership in adopting and shaping AI legislation, reinforcing our commitment to a secure digital future.
Over the past several months, the European Commission has been diligently working to scope and develop the voluntary commitments contained in the AI Pact, with an eye toward preparing industry to comply with the EU AI Act, but also as a mechanism to foster safe and responsible AI use and development. To that end, it is encouraging to see that over a hundred companies have volunteered to be the first signatories of the AI Pact. The signatories include large multinational corporations and EU-based small and medium-sized enterprises. This includes a diverse range of sectors – IT, telecoms, healthcare, banking, automotive and aeronautics. We are proud to be one of the first signatories to the AI Pact, and the only pure-play cybersecurity company among this distinguished group.
As part of our signing on to the AI Pact, Palo Alto Networks has pledged to the following core commitments:
- Adopt an AI governance strategy to foster the uptake of AI in the organization and work toward future compliance with the AI Act;
- Carry out a mapping of AI systems developed or used in areas that would be considered high risk under the AI Act;
- Promote awareness and AI literacy of staff and other persons dealing with the deployment of AI systems on their behalf, ensuring ethical and responsible AI development.
Helping to Secure the Future of AI
Palo Alto Networks believes the core principles of the AI Pact fully align with our vision of a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before and that the use of this critical technology will help further our mission of protecting our digital way of life, ensuring AI is secure by design. With the AI Pact, Palo Alto Networks is committed to implementing the requirements of the AI Act well before the required effective dates. More importantly, we view this as a demonstration of our commitment to safe and responsible use and deployment of AI and hope to continue discussing these principles with EMEA-based customers and EU policymakers.
Background
The AI Act entered into force on August 1, 2024, as the first comprehensive regulation of AI, setting a common framework for the use and supply of AI systems in the EU. Although some provisions of the AI Act are already in effect, the rest of the AI Act will come into force over a 2 year period: a limited set of prohibitions will take effect after 6 months, governance rules and the obligations for general-purpose AI models become applicable after 12 months, and rules for AI systems embedded in regulated products will apply after 36 months.