1.5. Other policy initiatives

1.5.1. AI and criminal law

In the motion for a resolution on AI in criminal law and its use by the police and judicial authorities in criminal matters (2020/2016(INI)) of 8 of June 2020, the EP recognizes that whereas AI applications offer great opportunities in the field of law enforcement, they also entail a number of potential risks, such as:
– opaque decision-making
– different types of discrimination
– risks to the protection of privacy and personal data
– the protection of freedom of expression and information
– the presumption of innocence
The proposal for a resolution underline that in judicial and law enforcement contexts, human in the loop for final decisions, remedy, recourses, explainability and transparency should be ensured. Facial recognition systems for law enforcement should be stopped until the technical standards can be considered fully compliant with fundamental rights.

1.5.2. Use of AI in education, culture and the audio-visual sector

On 19th May 2021, the EP adopted a resolution on AI in education, culture and the audiovisual sector. It lists some uses of AI systems in the media sector such as subtitling, smart production, labelling, content analysis, … The text acknowledges several issues and challenges that the development of AI encounters and wishes to establish clear guidelines for any AI progress for these sectors.
– AI in the media, given the sensitivity of the sector, must respect fundamental rights, freedoms and values enshrined in the EU treaties.
– Challenges: datasets leading to bias, cyber harassment, digital gap and lack of expertise, lack of accessibility, deep fakes, disinformation spread, bots, intellectual property rights uncertainties, data protection risks, and so forth.
To mitigate these challenges, the EP calls the EC to present a general regulatory framework, which applies to all applications of AI, and to complement it with sector-specific rules, for example for audio-visual media services. Moreover, the EP calls the EC and Member States to fully incorporate the gender and the diversity dimension in the measures taken related to AI: datasets, training, education, developers’ team, research. The EP calls for the establishment of a clear ethical framework for the use of AI technologies in media, more transparency and more research on the topic.
Specific recommendations were also made about the audio-visual sector, online disinformation, and deep fakes.

1.5.3. Technology AI Policy Initiatives

There are also a number of various EU initiatives in the field of cloud computing and quantum technologies.
– Starting in September 2020, the GAIA-X initiative aims to strengthen Europe’s position in data-driven innovations by developing common requirements for a European data infrastructure based on European values.
– The Quantum Technologies Flagship is a long-term research and innovation initiative that aims to develop quantum technologies.

Authors:
Lidia Dutkiewicz, Emine Ozge Yildirim, Noémie Krack from KU Leuven
Lucile Sassatelli from Université Côte d’Azur