As EU institutions start decisive meetings on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, a broad civil society coalition is urging them to prioritise people and fundamental rights in this landmark legislation.
EAPN Europe is one of 150 civil society organizations calling on the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU to put people and their fundamental rights at the forefront of the AI law as EU institutions move into “trilogue” negotiations. These decisive meetings will determine the final legislation and how much it centres human rights and the concerns of people who could be affected by ‘risky’ AI systems.
AI systems are already having a far-reaching impact in our lives. They’re increasingly being used to monitor and identify us in public spaces, predict our likelihood of criminality, re-direct policing and immigration control to already over-surveilled areas, facilitate violations of the right to claim asylum, predict our emotions and categorise us. They are also used to make crucial decisions about us, for example who gets to access welfare schemes.
Without proper regulation, these will exacerbate existing societal harms of mass surveillance, structural discrimination, and centralised power of large technology companies.
The AI Act is a crucial opportunity to regulate this technology and to prioritise people’s rights over profits.
