Artificial intelligence in the digital age: the European Parliament adopts its final recommendations

The special committee on artificial intelligence proposes a global roadmap for Europe, with a vision for 2030. It warns of the EU’s backwardness in terms of technology.

The European Union must act globally to set the standards for artificial intelligence. This is what emerges, in essence, from the 18-month investigation by Parliament’s special committee on AI in the digital age (AIDA), which draws attention both to the current shortcomings and to the the ” enormous potential offered by this technology “.

A gap to be made up in terms of technology

In its final recommendations, which follow work started in September 2020 aimed at examining the consequences of AI on the area’s economy and proposing a roadmap for 2030, the AIDA commission warns that the European Union is lagging behind in the global race to be a technology leader. Words that matter.

The next standards may be developed elsewhere “, warns the commission, which fleshes out its fears by raising the possibility that these standards are developed by often undemocratic actors. It therefore calls on the EU to act as a creator of standards in the field of artificial intelligence, at global level.

To achieve this, MEPs have identified various policy options with a view to unlocking the potential in AI in various sectors, such as the environment, climate change, health, or the fight against famine and pandemics in the world. If Europe puts in place the right education and training infrastructure, the commission seems convinced of the ability of AI to boost productivity in terms of work, innovation, capital and job creation.

A development of AI technologies to be regulated in the face of the risks associated with mass surveillance

Conversely, developing AI technologies could raise both ethical and legal questions. The EU calls on the global community for a consensus on minimum standards, while expressing concern about military research in areas such as lethal autonomous weapons systems.

The members of the European Parliament committee are also concerned about the use of AI to automate information processing on a scale never before achieved. That ” paves the way for mass surveillance and other unlawful interference “, indicate the elected officials, who speak of a ” threat to fundamental rights, in particular the right to privacy and data protection “.

The EU recalls that at present, some authoritarian regimes are already using artificial intelligence systems to control and carry out mass surveillance of citizens, even to classify them and restrict certain freedoms, such as that of movement. The commission also touches on the question of the impact of large technological platforms, which collect ever more information on individuals. ” Such profiling poses a risk to democratic systems as well as to the safeguard of our fundamental rights “, conclude the deputies.