New Europe boss puts focus on AI

Legalbrief Today Issue 4843

New European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who was elected last week, has committed to ‘put forward legislation for a co-ordinated European approach on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence’ within her first 100 days in office. According to an Out-Law.com report, the pledge is outlined in Von der Leyen's agenda for her five-year term in the role. The proposed new ethical AI legislation ‘should also look at how we can use big data for innovations that create wealth for our societies and our businesses’. ‘Following the Juncker Commission’s example, Von der Leyen clearly wants the EU to be a regulatory pacesetter,’ said technology law expert Dr Nils Rauer, of Pinsent Masons. 'With AI, however, one needs to take into consideration that this umbrella term contains a wide range of truly diverse designs and fields of application. Any type of legal regulation must therefore safeguard a technology-neutral and future-proof approach.’ Under Von der Leyen's leadership, the commission will also embark on a number of other initiatives aimed at ensuring Europe is ‘fit for the digital age’. Projects include the development of standards for 5G networks, and standards for other new technologies too, including blockchain, high-performance computing, quantum computing, algorithms and tools to allow data sharing and data usage. Von der Leyen has also promised to establish a new Digital Services Act to ‘upgrade our liability and safety rules for digital platforms, services and products’, and further pledged to improve cyber risk sharing across the EU through a new joint cyber unit.

Full report on the Out-Law.com site