At its plenary session on 16 July, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) delivered its opinion on the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence presented by the European Commission last February. The EESC was keen to highlight several key points.
Last February, the European Commission presented a White Paper on Artificial Intelligence and called for a European approach based on excellence and trust. Following the publication of the White Paper, a broad consultation of the private sector, academia and civil society in the Member States was launched. The EESC for its part, at a plenary session last week, delivered its opinion and made a number of key points.
The EESC :
- Stresses the importance of strengthening investment, infrastructure, innovation and skills;
- Urges the Commission to promote a new generation of AI systems based on knowledge and reasoning that uphold human values and principles
- Calls on the Commission to: (i) foster multidisciplinarity in research; (ii) involve relevant stakeholders in the AI debate; (iii) continue to educate and inform the general public about the opportunities and challenges of AI;
- Recommends that the Commission further examine the impact of AI on all fundamental rights and freedoms;
- continues to oppose the introduction of any form of legal personality for AI;
Recommends that the Commission draw up a list of common characteristics for applications or uses of AI considered to be inherently high-risk, irrespective of the sector; - Takes the view that the widespread use of biometric recognition based on artificial intelligence for the surveillance or monitoring, evaluation or categorisation of human beings, their behaviour or emotions should be prohibited;
- Calls for the close involvement of the social partners at an early stage when setting up AI systems in the workplace, as well as of the workers who will be brought to work with AI systems;
- Calls on the Commission to take a leading role in ensuring better coordination in Europe of applied AI solutions and approaches used to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Translated from Le Comité économique et social européen rend son Avis sur le Livre blanc sur l’Intelligence artificielle
