Reza Majidzadeh- Political economy & development
Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, analytical tools, and interactive platforms fundamentally transform how people live, work, and interact; the transformation towards what has become known as the fourth industrial revolution, and some call it “digitalization.” According to estimates by the World Economic Forum, the value of digitization in five critical global industries over the next decade will amount to USD 10 trillion, which directly depends on the transformation of the telecommunications industry’s basic infrastructure, applications, and productivity improvements. Technology has the characteristic of empowerment, and in every historical period, it has helped humankind to overcome the limitations of the natural world, human life, and even its physical restraints. Still, the possibility of inappropriate use of technology by some criminal groups, including for theft… and to prevent possible opportunism, makes the regulations inevitable.
The European AI Law has been adopted to prevent violations of fundamental rights, safety, and ethical principles.
The EU Office of Artificial Intelligence will oversee the implementation of this law. Depending on the amount and severity of the violation, fines of up to 35 million euros may be imposed for violating it.
Protecting citizens’ rights (instead of restricting their access) is one of the most essential features of the regulations considered in the European Parliament’s resolution.
The European Artificial Intelligence Law prohibits software that threatens citizens’ rights, including biometric classification systems based on sensitive features or targeted facial image cropping technologies from the Internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases.
Also, emotion recognition technology in the workplace and schools, social scoring, predictive policing (only based on the evaluation of individual characteristics), and artificial intelligence that manipulates human behavior or exploits people’s vulnerabilities are prohibited.
The scope of the European AI Law includes suppliers and developers of artificial intelligence systems that are marketed or used in the EU. Whether these deliverers and developers are residents of the EU or not, they will be subject to this law. Therefore, similar to the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, American companies that supply artificial intelligence technology in Europe are also subject to possible penalties for violating this law.
This law also specifies that the existing EU law on personal data protection, privacy, and confidentiality regarding the collection and use of data also applies to artificial intelligence technology.
The Artificial Intelligence Law is based on a risk-oriented approach for classifying artificial intelligence systems. These levels correspond to the sensitivity of the data involved and the application of artificial intelligence:
- Using deceptive and manipulative techniques to influence a person and affect his decision-making so that he would not otherwise have made a decision that would seriously harm himself or another person.
- Exploiting a person’s vulnerabilities due to old age, disability, or particular social/economic status to influence that person’s behavior to cause severe harm to that person or another.
- Biometric data categorizes individuals based on race, political opinions, trade union membership, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, or sexual orientation.
- Creating or expanding facial recognition databases by cutting facial images from the Internet or CCTV footage.
Of course, the exact boundaries of high-risk artificial intelligence technology have not yet been precisely defined. This law emphasizes the absence of risk to real people’s health, safety, or fundamental rights. The European Commission and the Office of Artificial Intelligence have 18 months to develop practical guidelines for implementers to implement.
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