Post-GPT Policy: Risk and Regulation in EU AI Discourse

Abstract

The ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI) systems across society has generated discussion around risks posed by general-purpose AI (GPAI) technologies. At the same time, harmonized AI regulation is being devised in the European Union (EU) to ensure responsible AI development and uptake. This paper presents a mixed-methods study combining approaches from natural language processing (NLP) and qualitative content analysis to study shifting risk discourse in EU policy-related documents and media articles. The research is anchored around two recent events in the AI space: the popularization of GPAI following the release of ChatGPT and the introduction of the EU AI Act (AIA) regulation. The findings reveal a discursive emphasis on cybersecurity, regional imbalance of computational resources, education and AI literacy, and the implications of risks occurring at scale.