HomeInsightsEuropean Commission to set up group on AI to gather expert input and draw up guidelines on AI ethics

The Commission explains that from better healthcare to safer transport and more sustainable farming, AI can bring major benefits to our society and economy. However, questions related to the impact of AI on the future of work and existing legislation have been raised. This calls for a wide, open and inclusive discussion on how to use and develop AI in a way that is ethically sound.

The expert group in artificial intelligence will:

  • advise the Commission on how to build a broad and diverse community of stakeholders in a “European AI Alliance”;
  • support the implementation of the upcoming European initiative on AI (April 2018); and
  • propose, by the end of the year, draft guidelines for the ethical development and use of AI based on EU fundamental rights. In doing so, it will consider issues such as fairness, safety, transparency, the future of work, democracy and, more broadly, the impact on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The guidelines will be drafted following wide consultation.

The Commission is calling for applications to join the expert group by 9 April 2018. The Commission aims to set up the group by May. The group will gather and build on the work done by other experts in the AI field, such as the high-level strategy group for industrial technologies and the expert group on liability and new technologies.

The Commission says it will work closely with Member States, especially through the European platform of national initiatives, to digitise industry, with the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions as well as international organisations and fora (such as the G7). Artificial intelligence will be one of the key topics discussed as part of the Digital Day, taking place in Brussels on 10 April 2018. To read the Commission’s press release in full, click here.

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