Members of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Digital Age (AIDA) discussed artificial intelligence and the EU’s data strategy on Thursday 30 September.
The parliamentarians’ attention was focused on international cooperation in this field, after discussions between the EU and the US on the subject that took place on 29 September in Pittsburgh, in the framework of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) (see EUROPE 12801/20).
On this aspect, approaches seem to differ between the Parliament’s political groups. On the EPP side, Sweden’s Jörgen Warborn regretted “that there was no coordination with the US before the EU drafted its own legislation”. “This should not create a bigger gap with our American neighbours”, he added.
“The EU should not wait for anyone. The EU is not subordinate to the US. We have our responsibilities in parliamentary work, we should not wait”, replied Iban García del Blanco (S&D, Spain).
As a referee, the European Commission recalled that, “ideally”, the EU could “set standards that international standardisation organisations should follow”. “It is not a question of who is subordinate to whom”, it added.
Most political groups also reiterated their commitment to a risk-based and human-centred approach to AI and data.
“We need to create a transparent, trusted ecosystem with rules, so that it is not the same big players monopolising and directing innovation", insisted Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D, Finland).
Finally, the European Commission said that proposals on certain aspects of the data strategy - in order to achieve the 2030 digital targets (see EUROPE 12791/14) - would be presented in December. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)