LONDON - The world's biggest technology companies have embarked on a final push to persuade the European Union to take a light-touch approach to regulating artificial intelligence as they seek to fend off the risk of billions of dollars in fines.

EU lawmakers in May agreed the AI Act, the world's first comprehensive set of rules governing the technology, following months of intense negotiations between different political groups.

ALSO READ: AI love you

But until the law's accompanying codes of practice have been finalized, it remains unclear how strictly rules around “general purpose” AI (GPAI) systems, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT will be enforced and how many copyright lawsuits and multi-billion dollar fines companies may face.

The EU has invited companies, academics, and others to help draft the code of practice, receiving nearly 1,000 applications, an unusually high number according to a source familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.