Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) want the EU to set the global standard for AI. While the MEPs recognise that the EU has lagged in the global race for AI leadership, they still believe the Union must set the standard. If they don’t set the standard, they worry other nations will develop global standards—especially non-democratic regimes. If you want to know more about how the EU plans to regulate AI, join the conversation at our upcoming Lexverse Conference.

Keep reading to understand the EU’s motivations for a global AI standard.

Background

In 2020, the EU established the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age (AIDA). It started its work in September 2020.

The EU tasked the Committee with:

  • exploring AI’s impact on the EU economy and different sectors,
  • analysing the approach to AI of third countries, and
  • charting the EU’s roadmap on AI.

The MEPs held several discussions. The discussions’ results culminated in a final report aiming to establish an AI Roadmap for the EU up to 2030.

Adopting the AIDA Committee’s recommendation

On Tuesday, 3 May 2022, the European Parliament adopted the final recommendations of the Committee.

AI can complement human labour

The report says that the public debate on AI should focus on the technology’s generous potential to complement human labour.

Policy options to unlock AI’s potential

They identified policy options that could unlock AI’s potential in:

  • health,
  • the environment and climate change,
  • helping combat pandemics and global hunger, and
  • enhancing people’s quality of life through personalised medicine.

The MEPs also suggest that AI can increase capital and labour productivity, innovation, sustainable growth, and job creation. However, the EU must combine AI with the necessary support infrastructure, education, and training.

The correct approach to regulatory intervention

They added that regulatory intervention, like the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, should be proportionate to the risk type of an AI system.

Democracies must unite to shape AI’s future

The MEPs encouraged democracies to collaborate to shape the global debate on AI.

They also emphasised that AI technologies could pose crucial ethical and legal questions.

Autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

For example,

  • They voiced concerns about military research and technological developments into lethal autonomous weapon systems.
  • They also pointed out that some AI technologies automate information processing at an unprecedented scale. This fact empowers the potential for mass surveillance and other dangers to fundamental rights.

The MEPs warn that authoritarian regimes can use AI to control, exert mass surveillance, rank their citizens or restrict freedom of movement. Plus, dominant tech platforms can use AI to obtain more personal information. This profiling poses risks to democratic systems, according to the MEPs.

Therefore, they argue that the EU should prioritise international cooperation to safeguard fundamental rights and minimise technological threats.

The European Parliament’s next steps

The report will feed into upcoming parliamentary work on AI. Especially the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Two committees are currently discussing the Act: the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) committees. They’ll vote on the AI Act in late September.