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Sam Jungyun Choi

Recognized by Law.com International as a Rising Star (2023), Sam Jungyun Choi is an associate in the technology regulatory group in Brussels. She advises leading multinationals on European and UK data protection law and new regulations and policy relating to innovative technologies, such as AI, digital health, and autonomous vehicles.

Sam is an expert on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act, having advised on these laws since they started to apply. In recent years, her work has evolved to include advising companies on new data and digital laws in the EU, including the AI Act, Data Act and the Digital Services Act.

Sam's practice includes advising on regulatory, compliance and policy issues that affect leading companies in the technology, life sciences and gaming companies on laws relating to privacy and data protection, digital services and AI. She advises clients on designing of new products and services, preparing privacy documentation, and developing data and AI governance programs. She also advises clients on matters relating to children’s privacy and policy initiatives relating to online safety.

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On June 3, 2025, the OECD introduced a new framework called AI Capability Indicators that compares AI capabilities to human abilities. The framework is intended to help policymakers assess the progress of AI systems and enable informed policy responses to new AI advancements. The indicators are designed to help non-technical policymakers understand the degree of advancement of different AI capabilities. AI researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholder groups, including economists, psychologists, and education specialists, are invited to submit their feedback to the current beta-framework.

There are nine categories of AI capability indicators, each one presented on a five-level scale mapping AI progression toward full human equivalence, with level 5 representing the most challenging capabilities for AI systems to attain. Each category rates AI performance and assumes human equivalent capability according to the latest available evidence as follows:

  • Language – ranges from basic keyword recognition (Level 1) to contextually aware discourse generation and open-ended creative writing (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 3: reliable understanding and generation of semantic meaning using multi-modal language.
  • Social interaction – ranges from social cue interpretation (Level 1) to representation of sophisticated emotion intelligence and multi-party conversational fluency (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 2: basic social perception with the ability to slightly adapt based on experience, emotions detected through tone and context, and limited social memory.
  • Problem solving – ranges from rule-based task execution (Level 1) to new scenarios that require adaptive reasoning, long-term planning, and multi-step inference (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 2: integration of qualitative and quantitative reasoning to address complex problems and capable of handling multiple qualitative states and predicting how systems may evolve or change over time.
  • Creativity – measures originality and generative capacity in art ranging from template-based generation (Level 1) to creation of entirely novel concepts (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 3: generation of output that deviates considerably from the training data and generalization of skills to new tasks and integrate ideas across domains.
  • Metacognition and critical thinking – ranges from basic interpretation or recognition of information (Level 1) to managing complex trade-offs between goals, resources, and necessary skills (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 2: monitoring and adjustment of the system’s own understanding and approach according to each problem.
  • Knowledge, learning, and memory – ranges from data ingestion efficiency and retention (Level 1) to insight-generation from disparate knowledge sources (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 3: understanding semantics of information through distributed representations and generalization to novel situations.
  • Vision – ranges from basic object recognition (Level 1) to dynamic scene understanding and multi-object tracking under varied environmental conditions (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 3: adapting to variations in target object appearance and lighting, performing multiple subtasks, and coping with known variations in data and situations.
  • Manipulation – ranges from fine motor control in robotics like picking up simple items (Level 1) to dexterous manipulation of deformable objects (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available AI systems is Level 2: handling different object shapes and moderately pliable materials and operating in controlled environments with low to moderate clutter.
  • Robotic intelligence – integrates multiple subdomains like navigation, manipulation, and perception ranging from pre-programmed action (Level 1) to fully autonomous, self-learning robotic agents (Level 5). The OECD considers that the capability level of currently available robotic systems is Level 2: operating in partially known and semi-structured environments with some well-defined variability.

Continue Reading OECD Introduces AI Capability Indicators for Policymakers

On 4 June 2025, the European Commission published a decision recognising 13 critical raw material projects located in non-EU countries as “Strategic Projects” under the Critical Raw Materials Act (“CRMA”, Regulation (EU) 2024/1252). This first set of Strategic Projects based outside the EU adds to the 47 Strategic Projects based within the EU announced earlier this year. These Strategic Projects are recognized as significantly contributing to the security of the EU’s supply of strategic raw materials, and will benefit from preferential access to finance and other advantages. For more information on the CRMA and the framework for Strategic Projects, see our previous blog post here.Continue Reading EU Designates 13 Non-EU Critical Raw Materials Projects as Strategic

In February 2025, the European Commission published two sets of guidelines to clarify key aspects of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”): Guidelines on the definition of an AI system and Guidelines on prohibited AI practices. These guidelines are intended to provide guidance on the set of AI Act obligations that started to apply on February 2, 2025 – which includes the definitions section of the AI Act, obligations relating to AI literacy, and prohibitions on certain AI practices.

This article summarizes the key takeaways from the Commission’s guidelines on the definition of AI systems (the “Guidelines”). Please see our blogs on the guidelines on prohibited AI practices here, and our blog on AI literacy requirements under the AI Act here.

Defining an “AI System” Under the AI Act

The AI Act (Article 3(1)) defines an “AI system” as (1) a machine-based system; (2) that is designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy; (3) that may exhibit adaptiveness after deployment; (4) and that, for explicit or implicit objectives; (5) infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs; (6) such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions; (7) that can influence physical or virtual environments. The AI System Definition Guidelines provide explanatory guidance on each of these seven elements.Continue Reading European Commission Guidelines on the Definition of an “AI System”

AI chatbots are transforming how businesses handle consumer inquiries and complaints, offering speed and availability that traditional channels often cannot match.  However, the European Commission’s recent Digital Fairness Act Fitness Check has spotlighted a gap: EU consumers currently lack a cross-sectoral right to demand human contact when interacting with AI chatbots in business-to-consumer settings.  It is still unclear whether and how the European Commission is proposing to address this.  The Digital Fairness Act could do so, but the Commission’s proposal is only planned to be published in the 3rd quarter of 2026.  This post highlights key consumer protection considerations for companies deploying AI chatbots in the EU market.

AI Chatbots Cannot Be the Only Contact Channel

Under EU law–particularly the Consumer Rights Directive (“CRD”) and the eCommerce Directive–consumers must have access to traditional communication channels such as the trader’s postal address, telephone number, and email address.  The Court of Justice of the EU has made clear that consumers must be able to contact traders directly, quickly, and effectively (Case C-649/17).  While chatbots can assist, they cannot replace mandatory human contact options.

AI Chatbots as Supplementary Communication Channels

The CRD requires traders to disclose their primary contact details before concluding a contract, but does not prohibit offering AI chatbots as additional communication tools.  Where chatbots enable consumers to retain durable records of their interactions – including timestamps – traders should inform consumers about that.  Durable records are defined as information stored in a medium accessible and unalterable for future reference, such as emails or downloadable files.

In any event, certain communications, such as the acknowledgment of a consumer’s right of withdrawal, must be provided in a “durable medium,” ensuring consumers have a stable and accessible record of important contractual information.

Human Oversight and the Right to Human InterventionContinue Reading Digital Fairness Act Series: Topic 2 – Transparency and Disclosure Obligations for AI Chatbots in Consumer Interactions

On May 7, 2025, the European Commission published a Q&A on the AI literacy obligation under Article 4 of the AI Act (the “Q&A”).  The Q&A builds upon the Commission’s guidance on AI literacy provided in its webinar in February 2025, covered in our earlier blog here.  Among other…

Continue Reading European Commission Publishes Q&A on AI Literacy

On March 5, 2025, the European Commission published the Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector. This plan outlines measures to strengthen the competitiveness of the European automotive industry and to accelerate the transition to zero-emission mobility in the EU.  This plan is the result of the “Strategic Dialogue” that has been taking place in Brussels in the last month between vehicle manufacturers in the EU and EU officials.  The plan announces a catalogue of initiatives to be adopted by the Commission, but the expected timelines and the interplay between different initiatives is not always clear.  This blog summarizes some of the initiatives likely to be relevant to stakeholders in the EU automotive industry—particularly those in the electric vehicle (“EV”) supply chain.Continue Reading European Commission Publishes Automotive Industrial Action Plan

On February 7, 2025, the OECD launched a voluntary framework for companies to report on their efforts to promote safe, secure and trustworthy AI.  This global reporting framework is intended to monitor and support the application of the International Code of Conduct for Organisations Developing Advanced AI Systems delivered by the 2023 G7 Hiroshima AI Process (“HAIP Code of Conduct”).*  Organizations can choose to comply with the HAIP Code of Conduct and participate in the HAIP reporting framework on a voluntary basis.  This reporting framework will allow participating organizations that comply with the HAIP Code of Conduct to showcase the efforts they have made towards ensuring responsible AI practices – in a way that is standardized and comparable with other companies.

Organizations that choose to report under the HAIP reporting framework would complete a questionnaire that contains the following seven sections:

  1. Risk identification and evaluation – includes questions regarding, among others, how the organization classifies risk, identifies and evaluates risks, and conducts testing.
  2. Risk management and information security – includes questions regarding, among others, how the organization promotes data quality, protects intellectual property and privacy, and implements AI-specific information security practices.
  3. Transparency reporting on advanced AI systems – includes questions regarding, among others,  reports and technical documentation and transparency practices.
  4. Organizational governance, incident management, and transparency – includes questions regarding, among others, organizational governance, staff training, and AI incident response processes.
  5. Content authentication & provenance mechanisms – includes questions regarding mechanisms to inform users that they are interacting with an AI system, and the organization’s use of mechanisms such as labelling or watermarking to enable users to identify AI-generated content.
  6. Research & investment to advance AI safety & mitigate societal risks – includes questions regarding, among others, how the organization participates in projects, collaborations and investments regarding research on various facets of AI, such as AI safety, security, trustworthiness, risk mitigation tools, and environmental risks.
  7. Advancing human and global interests – includes questions regarding, among others how the organization seeks to support digital literacy, human centric AI, and drive positive changes through AI.

Continue Reading OECD Launches Voluntary Reporting Framework on AI Risk Management Practices

On 18 November 2024, the International Energy Agency (“IEA”) published a detailed 163-page Report titled “Recycling of Critical Minerals: Strategies to Scale Up Recycling and Urban Mining” (the “Report”). The Report emphasizes the importance of recycling in securing the supply of essential minerals – such as copper, lithium…

Continue Reading Regulatory Insights from the IEA’s New Report on Recycling Critical Raw Materials

On 29 June 2024, the Net-Zero Industry Act (“NZIA”) entered into force.  The primary aim of the NZIA is to ensure that the EU has access to secure and sustainable net-zero technologies by scaling up their manufacturing capacity within the EU.

Here are the key takeaways:

  • The NZIA focuses on 19 Net-Zero Technologies (“NZTs”), including renewable fuels of non-biological origin (“RFNBOs”), solar, wind, nuclear, batteries, and carbon capture and carbon storage technologies.  The Regulation sets non-binding benchmarks for 40% local production of such technologies by 2030 and 15% global market share by 2040.  
  • To reach those benchmarks, Net-Zero Technologies Manufacturing Projects (“NZT Manufacturing Projects”) will benefit from streamlined permitting procedures.  Further, NZT Manufacturing Projects that are deemed “strategic” will benefit from expedited permitting timelines.
  • The NZIA introduces a target of achieving an annual injection capacity of at least 50 million tons of CO2 by 2030.  Oil and gas producers identified by Member States must contribute to this target, according to a proportion to be defined by the Commission for each individual producer.  Member States must adopt penalties for non-compliance.
  • National public procurement procedures for NZTs must include requirements for achieving a minimum level of environmental sustainability, to be set out in future implementing regulations.  In addition, for any given public contract having NZTs as part of their subject matter, the contracting authorities and entities must consider the project’s so-called “resilience contribution”, which relates to supply chain diversification.  When the majority (or a near majority) of a specific NZT (or any of its main components) originates from a third country, the contracting authority or entity must impose specific public procurement conditions to reduce dependency on that country. Auctions to deploy renewable energy sources and schemes that incentivize households, companies, and consumers to purchase NZT final products must also be designed to favor bidders that contribute to increasing the sustainability and resilience of the supply of NZTs within the EU.
  • Auctions to deploy renewable energy sources and schemes that incentivize households, companies, and consumers to purchase NZT final products must also be designed to favor bidders that contribute to increasing the sustainability and resilience of the supply of NZTs within the EU.
  • Member States may establish regulatory sandboxes, i.e., schemes enabling companies to test technologies in a controlled real-world environment under monitoring by a competent authority.

Continue Reading The EU Net-Zero Industry Act enters into force

On 23 May 2024, the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (“CRMA”) entered into force.  The Regulation’s adoption within just one year after it was first proposed in March 2023 signals the EU’s political commitment to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy on the supply of Strategic Raw Materials (“SRMs”) and the broader category of “Critical Raw Materials” (“CRMs”).   

Here are the key takeaways for companies:

  • The CRMA sets non-binding capacity targets within the EU for the extraction, processing, refining, and recycling of SRMs that are key to achieve the green and digital transition.
  • To reach such targets, the CRMA empowers the European Commission (“the Commission”) to recognize projects that extract, process, refine or recycle SRMs, including projects outside the EU, as Strategic Projects (“SPs”) so that they may benefit from easier access to financing, expedited permitting process, and matchmaking with off-takers.  The Commission is expected to recognize the first SPs by the end of 2024.
  • The Commission must monitor disruption risks and propose mitigation measures, if needed, to ensure a secure supply of CRMs.  To enable the Commission to do this effectively, companies may be subject to new specific obligations, such as participating in surveys, carrying out risk assessments of SRMs supply chains, mitigating possible vulnerabilities, reporting on the implementation and the financing of their SPs, labelling some products, and recycling a minimum content of permanent magnets.  
  • The Commission will also create and operate a Joint Purchasing Mechanism to aggregate the demand of interested EU off-takers consuming SRMs and seek offers from suppliers to match that aggregated demand.

Critical and Strategic Raw Materials and Capacity Targets

SRMs are indispensable raw materials for strategic sectors that facilitate transition to a greener, digital economy.  They are characterized by high forecasted demand growth and significant challenges in scaling up production in Europe to meet such demand.  Annex I to the CRMA lists 17 SRMs, including copper, gallium, lithium, manganese, and titanium metal.Continue Reading The EU Critical Raw Materials Act enters into force