The European Union's landmark law on artificial intelligence came into force on Thursday, which Brussels vows will drive innovation while protecting citizens' rights.

The EU earlier this year adopted the world's first sweeping rules to govern AI, especially powerful systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT after difficult and tense negotiations.

Although the rules were first proposed in 2021, they took on greater urgency when ChatGPT burst onto the scene in 2022, showing generative AI's human-like ability to churn out eloquent text within seconds.

Other examples of generative AI include Dall-E and Midjourney, which can generate images in nearly any style with a simple input in everyday language.

"With our artificial intelligence act, we create new guardrails not only to protect people and their interests, but also to give business and innovators clear rules and certainty," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

• Read More