Summary by Bing AI:
The article reports on the progress of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which aims to be the world’s first law regulating artificial intelligence (AI). The law would introduce rules and safeguards for various applications of AI, such as facial recognition, emotional recognition, chemical weapons, and deepfakes. The article interviews Dragoș Tudorache, a Romanian MEP and co-rapporteur of the parliamentary committee that drafted the legislation. He expresses his optimism that the final text can be agreed by Wednesday, 25 October 2023, after four years of work. He also says that he is more optimistic than pessimistic about AI, as long as there are some guardrails to protect the citizens’ rights and interests.
I think it’s a term that, in this context, is used to denote someone who’s either formally or informally (never worked out which) in charge of pushing legislation on a specific topic
You’re correct, and it’s usually a formal appointment (obviously with a different title). It’s a very common term in British political journalism for some reason
It’s usually used when a thing that used to be fragmented across multiple areas of responsibility gets its own point person inside the government.