The European Commission is preparing to present a Communication on ethical issues in the field of artificial intelligence, based on the work of the High Level Group set up in June 2018 to support the EU strategy on artificial intelligence. The communication is expected on 8 April, the day before European Digital Day.
The High Level Group, which brings together 52 experts, was set up in June 2018, after the Commission presented its strategy to stimulate the development of artificial intelligence (see EUROPE 12009/4). The group had two tasks: to establish guidelines on ethical issues and to make investment and policy recommendations.
A first draft of the ethical guidelines was presented in December 2018 (see EUROPE 12162/10). But these have since been the subject of a public consultation, which has yielded over 500 comments, and further discussions in the High Level Group. Some issues, such as the obligation to explain, the possibility of refusing certain parameters, lethal weapons or rating systems, had indeed remained open.
Ethics in AI will be at the heart of the conference organised by the Commission and the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU for European Digital Day, as well as the participation of women in digital, the digitisation of agriculture and the digitisation of cultural heritage.
Results of the public consultation: https://bit.ly/2WH6SEo. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)