Recital 8 Nature of the rules

A Union legal framework laying down harmonised rules on AI is therefore needed to foster the development, use and uptake of AI in the internal market that at the same time meets a high level of protection of public interests, such as health and safety and the protection of fundamental rights, including democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection as recognised and protected by Union law. To achieve that objective, rules regulating the placing on the market means the first making available of an AI system or a general-purpose AI model on the Union market;, the putting into service means the supply of an AI system for first use directly to the deployer or for own use in the Union for its intended purpose; and the use of certain AI systems means a machine-based system that is designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy and that may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment, and that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments; should be laid down, thus ensuring the smooth functioning of the internal market and allowing those systems to benefit from the principle of free movement of goods and services. Those rules should be clear and robust in protecting fundamental rights, supportive of new innovative solutions, enabling a European ecosystem of public and private actors creating AI systems means a machine-based system that is designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy and that may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment, and that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments; in line with Union values and unlocking the potential of the digital transformation across all regions of the Union. By laying down those rules as well as measures in support of innovation with a particular focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including startups, this Regulation supports the objective of promoting the European human-centric approach to AI and being a global leader in the development of secure, trustworthy and ethical AI as stated by the European Council(⁵)European Council, Special meeting of the European Council (1 and 2 October 2020) — Conclusions, EUCO 13/20, 2020, p. 6., and it ensures the protection of ethical principles, as specifically requested by the European Parliament(⁶)European Parliament resolution of 20 October 2020 with recommendations to the Commission on a framework of ethical aspects of artificial intelligence, robotics and related technologies, 2020/2012(INL)..