Artificial intelligence, alarm from the EU Parliament: "Risk of technological colonization"

According to the Aida special commission, "Europe must develop standards before other countries do". And he warns: "We need to monitor the ethical implications and the role of Big tech" 23 Mar 2022 Patrizia Licata Journalist

The European Union is lagging behind in the global race for technological supremacy and this poses great risks, especially in the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence. Standards could be created elsewhere, by undemocratic actors. Instead, the opposite must happen: the EU must take on the role of who defines global standards in AI. This is what we read in the text of the report with which the European Parliament's special commission on artificial intelligence in the digital age (Aida) adopted its final recommendations on AI policies in Europe after 18 months of investigations. Index of topics • Not rules, but policies to unlock opportunities • The challenge of global consensus on ethical issues • Threats to privacy: watch out for Big Tech Not rules, but policies to unlock opportunities The document states that the public debate on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) should focus on the enormous potential of this technology as a complement to what humans can do.

MEPs offer policy options to unlock the potential of AI in health, environment and climate change, to help fight pandemics and world hunger, as well as to improve people's quality of life through personalized medicine. AI, when combined with the support of infrastructure, education and ad hoc training, can increase labor productivity, innovation, sustainable growth and job creation. The EU should not in principle regulate AI itself as a technology. On the contrary, the level of regulatory intervention should be proportionate to the type of risk associated with the use of an AI system in a particular way. The challenge of global consensus on ethical issues The Aida commission document also points out that artificial intelligence technologies could pose crucial ethical and legal questions. It highlights the challenge of reaching consensus within the global community on minimum standards for responsible use of AI and concerns about military research and technological developments aimed at lethal autonomous offense systems. Threats to privacy: watch out for Big tech In addition, some artificial intelligence technologies allow the automation of information processing on an unprecedented scale. This paves the way for mass surveillance and other illicit interference and poses a threat to fundamental rights, especially the rights to privacy and data protection. Authoritarian regimes apply artificial intelligence systems to control, mass surveillance and classify their citizens or restrict freedom of movement. Dominant technology platforms use them to get more information about a person. This profiling poses risks for democratic systems and for the protection of fundamental rights, the document concludes. The report, adopted by the Aida special committee with 25 votes in favor, 2 against and 6 abstentions, will be submitted to the vote of the European Chamber in May.

colonization