’Opportunity to innovate within ethical boundaries’: Ikea welcomes adoption of EU Artificial Intelligence Act

The European Parliament this week approved the world's first comprehensive framework for constraining the risks of artificial intelligence (AI).

It is now expected to be rubber stamped by a council of ministers, becoming law within weeks. The act will come into force in stages, with various deadlines for compliance over the next three years.

The move has been welcomed by Ikea.

In a LinkedIn post, Parag Parekh, Chief Digital Officer at Ingka Group | Ikea, said: “Our journey with AI at Ikea has been guided by a vision to create better homes, lives, and a sustainable planet.”

“Today we welcome the adoption of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which reinforces our mission to use AI not only to advance our business but to do so with a profound sense of accountability to our customers, co-workers, and the environment.”

“It underscores our belief that the future of AI is not just about technological advancement, but about building trust in technology by prioritising transparency, fairness, and human agency.”

He added: “We view the AI Act not just as a regulatory framework, but as an opportunity to innovate within ethical boundaries, ensuring that our AI driven solutions enhance customer experiences while upholding the highest standards of digital trust and responsibility.”

“Ikea is committed to leading the way in this new era, demonstrating that responsible AI is not just possible, but paramount to building a better, more trustworthy future for everyone.”

The Very Group

Multi-brand online retailer, The Very Group, this week brought the entire company together for an event entitled, Very Con: AI in Action.

Matt Grest, CIO at The Very Group, said: “It’s always going to be a big call to bring the whole company together for an AI immersion day, but as a business we have made huge strides over the last 12 months in powering the business using genuine AI and I really wanted to keep up the momentum and bring more colleagues into the fold.”

He added: “We had a fantastic day where we were able to outline our strategic ambitions, we had colleagues demonstrating how we’re already leveraging genuine AI across the business and saw many great demonstrations from our valued partners in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Samsung Electronics, Meta and Multiverse - great energy in the office all day from everyone.”

The big reveal of the day was the launch of VeryGPT, a generative AI chatBot that will be available to all employees.

Grest said: “This gives everyone access to a new tool that they can use to support their daily activities, in a safe and secure environment with appropriate guardrails.”

“We’ve already been able to demonstrate some amazing productivity gains from colleagues using VeryGPT during our internal trial, and I can’t wait to see what colleagues are going to do with this now that it’s rolled out to all.”