The EU's Plans for AI

By Anna Payne

In the last few years, the availability of Artificial Intelligence to the public has spiked dramatically. There are, of course, AI chatbots and software such as Siri, Amazon Alexa, Grammarly, Photoshop, and so on that utilize artificial intelligence for the average person. But, last November, the company OpenAI released a demo of their new product, which quickly went viral. ChatGPT was one of the first AI chatbots that was understood by the public to be AI, sparking the discussion of how this program and AI, in general, should be regulated. AI has always existed in the corner of the public's eye, but now we have access to programs that can draft essays, write code in every language, create intricate artwork, or even imitate a human personality within seconds. Everyone is finally aware of the uses of AI, so it's important to understand where its future is heading.

Artificial intelligence is a gray area to most, as the potential risks and benefits of using it can be both beneficial and catastrophic. The European Union started the complicated task of strategically regulating while still promoting the growth of AI. The Digital Europe and Horizon Europe programs, in collaboration with the EU, have invested 1 billion per year to start moving Europe into the digital age. Artificial Intelligence needs to have smooth, uninterrupted access to the internet and the data within to work correctly, otherwise they start to run into shady territory. Practices such as concealed data collection or the practice of “scraping”, which is when artificially intelligent software traverses websites and their data without permission from the sources. These are some of the concerning, but not outright alarming risks of allowing unregulated artificial intelligence to exist. By regulating and determining where to aim their funding to promote growth, the EU is ensuring that AI exists to benefit their countries solely.

The EU released its Artificial Intelligence Act and the Commission's White Paper on AI to outline its plan for how AI can be used in beneficial ways to promote the smooth functioning of cities and countries. Artificial Intelligence has built up a bad reputation in the past, with the public scared of its seemingly unlimited abilities and its ability to mimic human personalities, but what most don’t understand is how AI is already in their everyday lives without them even realizing it. It’s not as scary when you realize Siri is AI, or that many common apps use AI too. The EU has recently approved the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which will support the EU with 672.5 billion euros in grants to improve technological development, boost economic growth, and contribute to the European Green Deals and EU Security Union strategies by developing and using AI. The economy will benefit, hospitals and medical systems improved, manufacturing streamlined, and countries' security will increase, … essentially AI will provide solutions to fixing many of our country's shortcomings. It is to be expected that Europe will move into a more technological age soon, with research centers and funding already being moved into place.

Concerns have come up in these discussions, however. Scraping and data collection is one thing, but using AI can create much darker situations. In the wrong hands, the abilities of AI could target individuals, businesses, or entire countries. There are certain scenarios classified as “high risk”, defined in the Fostering a European Approach to Artificial Intelligence report by the European Parliament, Council, and the European Economic and Social Committee. Situations listed in this report are AI systems evaluating and picking candidates for judicial positions, anthropomorphism (allowing AI to mimic a human personality and emotions) in chatbots or online therapy, deepfakes, usage within public facial recognition systems, and so on. AI has the unnerving ability to violate our privacy or manipulate our future. The European Union fully acknowledges this, which is why they are outlining exactly how the growth of AI will occur. Within the Fostering a European Approach to Artificial Intelligence report, they have clear boundaries for how these systems will be restricting what AI can do and requiring transparency about the workings of how they are interacting with a user and their data. Consent must be given for data collection and processing. AI systems will be evaluated, and if deemed “high risk,” will be tightly monitored to ensure that people are not being taken advantage of. Fines for violating these regulations can reach up to 30 million and will be evaluated by a proposed European Artificial Intelligence Board. The European Union is taking a firm stand to ensure its citizens will interact with artificial intelligence in a safe and positive manner so that we can use this technology to better our lives.

Artificial intelligence is a part of our future, no matter what, which can be a scary thing to think about. But, we have the reassurance that we will be protected from unrestrained and unethical practices with this technology. Artificial intelligence has the potential to make our countries and everyday lives better, so knowing the EU has taken preemptive measures, as far back as 2018, to ensure we experience the perks instead of the fallbacks is something to keep in mind and look forward to. We are prepared and excited to see what's next.