Calling for an ethical and efficient EU policy framework on Artificial Intelligence

10 April 2022

Resolution submitted by: JEF Political Commission 2 – Internal European Policy
Adopted by the European Congress in Paris on 26 October 2019. Re-adopted by the Federal Committee in Luxembourg on 10 April 2022.

Artificial intelligence (hereafter AI) can be defined as any machine or algorithm that is capable of observing its environment, learning, and based on the knowledge and experience gained, taking intelligent actions or proposing decisions. The applications of AI are manifold, with a significant potential to improve people’s lives and generate economic benefits for society. There are,
however, also risks that could emerge from these new technologies. In April 2021, the European Commission put forward a comprehensive legal framework for AI, known as the AI Act. The aim of this resolution is to take stock of this evolution and continue to encourage European institutions together with the Member States to ensure that the development of AI upholds EU values, no matter whether it is driven by academic or industrial research or pursued by the public or private sector actors.

JEF Europe,

  • Believing in the potential of these new technologies to transform lives and work practices in Europe, by advancing economic growth and improving efficiency in sectors such as industry, commerce, transport, farming, healthcare, medical care, and education;
  • Highly aware that the development of AI is proceeding globally and that the only way to influence it for Europeans is through concerted action by the EU;
  • Believing that the EU has the opportunity to exert leadership in the digital sphere by regulating AI in a human-centric way based on ethics and fundamental rights, distinct both from laissez-faire as well as authoritarian models;
  • Aware of the impact of AI on all parts of society and all sectors of the economy that carries huge promises to help solve societal challenges but also comes with risks of disruption that we should address and mitigate;
  • Aware that in terms of GDP growth, estimates show that deploying the necessary key technology across Europe would create EUR 2.7 trillion in additional economic activity by the year 2030;
  • Concerned about potential biases which may, and have already, arisen in the design and application of algorithms, specifically in the terms of gender and race for instance, by learning from and reproducing existing unequal structures;
  • Concerned about the lack of accountability behind Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, whose application in some cases has already resulted in biases regarding race or gender for instance, by learning from and reproducing existing unequal structures;
  • Acknowledging the advances made by European institutions in protecting data since the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
  • Looking with favor to the fact that in March 2018, the European Commission set up a High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLEG) with experts and stakeholders, which published several key documents, such as the “Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence”, which define the 7 key requirements AI systems should meet to be considered trustworthy, as well as “Policy and Investment Recommendations for trustworthy AI”, which were later explored more in detail on a sectoral basis;
  • Noting however that the existing European legislation and policies are either insufficient or just not applicable to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI;
  • Concerned about the existing legal vacuum in liability and responsibility for malfunction, clear ethical framework, harmful action, omission or other damages caused by AI in the European legal framework;
  • Commending the European Commission for having elaborated in a relatively short time a comprehensive proposal laying down harmonized rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act, or AI Act), this AI Act being currently discussed in the European Parliament;
  • Approving the European Commission’s general approach in the AI Act of assessing and regulating AI based on risk;
  • Concerned that the challenges raised by AI impact numerous citizen’s rights, such as, but not limited to, privacy, safety, freedom of choice, and non-discrimination;
  • Concerned about the lack of clarity and the fragmentation of laws across the Member States that would jeopardize the development of AI goods and services across the Single Market;
  • Welcoming the European Commission’s intention to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the field of AI and robotics both structurally and financially;
  • Welcoming the implementation of a coordinated plan for a sustainable and ethical AI developed by the European Commission to better coordinate the development of AI between the EU and the Member States;
  • Acknowledging the need for public policy to ensure the benefits of AI reach as many people as possible, in fields such as, but not limited to, education and inclusion;
  • Concerned that AI regulations proposed in the AI Act mainly focus on “high-risk AI”, which is limited to certain technologies, not including social media and other systems, which might also present important risks;
  • Acknowledging the risks associated with the potential misuse and weaponization of AI, which could open doors for malicious disruptions in several key fields, including, but not limited to, state security, democratic processes, and energy;
  • Alarmed by the fact that Europe is clearly lagging behind both China and the United States in all six categories of AI Development (i.e. talent, research, software development, hardware development, AI adoption, and use of data);
  • Welcoming the proposal in the AI Act to create a European AI Board (EAIB) to coordinate the development of AI between stakeholders and the different EU initiatives as well as drive the development of standards;
  • Welcoming the proposal in the AI Act for the creation of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) in every European region, to share best practices, offer support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and public sector organizations in their uptake of AI, and give access to the European AI-on-demand platform which will contain useful tools and resources;
  • Approving the funding and scaling of innovative ideas and solutions for AI proposed in the AI Act through the AI/Blockchain Investment pilot and support programme, through calls for funding to the European Innovation Council (EIC), as well as through the creation of clusters of startups in the Horizon Europe, Startup Europe and Innovation Radar vehicles;
  • Welcoming the proposal by the European Commission for a Data Governance Act, currently being discussed in the Council of the European Union, and which would enable public and private actors to share open data in a manner compatible with the GDPR, to foster research and development in AI in Europe;
  • Welcoming the provisions in the AI Act relating to specialized training and skills development, but worries that this might not be sufficient for raising awareness of AI among the general public without the support from member states;

JEF Europe therefore,

  1. Welcomes the proposed AI Act’s goal to ensure that AI developed and put on the market in Europe is human-centric, sustainable, secure, inclusive and trustworthy, but calls on EU institutions to add explainability as well as transparency (of AI data, algorithms and processes) to the values it wants to promote, especially for high-risk AI systems;
  2. Calls for the establishment of common and clear legal definitions in the domain of AI and its training for all kinds of AI systems;
  3. Asks European institutions and the Member States to enact liability regulation, without restraining innovation in Europe;
  4. Further calls on the establishment of a European ecosystem for AI involving all stakeholders to ensure Europe’s digital autonomy and to b able to compete on a global level;
  5. Further calls on EU institutions to continue cooperating with the private sector active in the development of AI to ensure that it benefits European society;
  6. Welcomes the proposal in the AI Act to create a European AI Board (EAIB) to coordinate the development of AI between stakeholders and the different EU initiatives as well as drive the development of standards;
  7. Welcomes the fact that the proposed AI Act significantly increases funding for human-centric and trustworthy AI, through the Digital Europe and Horizon Europe programmes as well as through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (where part of the funding is earmarked for digital), and calls for member states as well as private sector actors to mobilize additional investment in the sector;
  8. Notes with satisfaction that the proposed AI Act creates a number of partnerships to move quickly on foundational and application-oriented AI research, most notably the European Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics (which brings together the AI community and builds on previous public-private partnerships), the AI lighthouse for Europe (alliance of research institutions) as well as further networks of AI excellence centers, and calls for all stakeholders to work together efficiently to realize the promise of European AI leadership from lab to market;
  9. Commends the European Commission’s proposal in the AI Act to co-fund testing and experimentation facilities (TEFs) to accelerate the deployment and uptake of AI, and asks for a very close monitoring of all high-risk AI solutions during the testing process, to obtain robust risk assessments ahead of the decision to bring the solution to the market;
  10. Welcomes the proposal in the AI Act for the creation of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) in every European region, to share best practices, offer support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and public sector organizations in their uptake of AI, and give access to the European AI-on-demand platform which will contain useful tools and resources;
  11. Approves the funding and scaling of innovative ideas and solutions for AI proposed in the AI Act through the AI/Blockchain Investment pilot and support programme, through calls for funding to the European Innovation Council (EIC), as well as through the creation of clusters of startups in the Horizon Europe, Startup Europe and Innovation Radar vehicles;
  12. Calls for the promotion of a regulatory framework, such as fair data, enabling the use and sharing of data for non-profit and scientific purposes, thus increasing the quality and availability of non-personal data;
  13. Welcomes the proposal by the European Commission for a Data Governance Act, currently being discussed in the Council of the European Union, and which would enable public and private actors to share open data in a manner compatible with the GDPR, to foster research and development in AI in Europe;
  14. Calls on the establishment of complementary initiatives – additionally to regulatory measures on AI and ethics – such as certification and codes of conduct in any AI-powered systems, with benefits for the companies acting, on a voluntary basis, in compliance with them;
  15. Emphasizes the need to raise awareness of AI among the general public and implement these topics at all levels of education and through lifelong learning to create a general understanding of what AI is, how it works, and the possible dangers linked to AI as well as to develop advanced digital skills;
  16. Welcomes the provisions in the AI Act relating to specialized training and skills development, but worries that this might not be sufficient for raising awareness of AI among the general public without the support from member states;
  17. Demands further investment and measures to mitigate the effects of automation in affected sectors e.g., in retraining of people that see their field of work displaced by rapid technological advancement;
  18. Calls on EU institutions and member states to mainstream sustainability in the development of AI technology to ensure that it contributes to achieving Europe’s sustainability goals;
  19. Urges the EU to work in parallel on the establishment of a global ethical framework regarding AI/ML training data and processes as well as their final usage;
  20. Calls for a strict dual-use application of AI technology, analogous to what is being done e.g., with weapons exports, to avoid it being abused by authoritarian governments, and asks for an effective monitoring structure to be set up to ensure compliance;
  21. Calls on legislators to require algorithms to actively balance out lack of data and discriminatory biases in decision-making, such as but not limited to gender and race;
  22. Calls on the EU and its member states to establish mechanisms for citizens to quickly and unbureaucratically file a complaint about potential breaches of the rules and principles laid out in the proposed AI Act, with the aim to provide a quick response;
  23. Commends the proposed AI Act for restricting the use of remote biometric identification systems (commonly referred to as facial recognition technologies) to be used only under the strictest conditions when no other methods are available, and demands that other AI technologies that can be used for surveillance should be treated under equally strict conditions;
  24. Recommends the European Parliament and Council of the European Union to pass the AI Act, with the changes mentioned above;
  25. Urges EU institutions and member states to remain actively seized on the matter, to be able to react fast to any emerging changes in the field of AI, and to not refrain from adding new technologies or solutions to the lists of unacceptable or high-risk AI if need be.

[1] For the purpose of this resolution, machine learning is defined as an application of artificial intelligence that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed;