European Commission to Test AI Ethics Guidelines

European Commission announced the launch of a pilot phase for the ethical guidelines for Artificial Intelligence (AI) development and its usages.

In June 2018, European Commission formed a new High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLEG) comprising of 52 experts from academia, civil society and industry. The AI HLEG drafted a detailed assessment for AI development and usages.

Industry, research institutes and public authorities can sign up at European AI Alliance and receive a notification when the pilot starts.

Executive Opinion

Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip said, "I welcome the work undertaken by our independent experts. The ethical dimension of AI is not a luxury feature or an add-on. It is only with trust that our society can fully benefit from technologies. Ethical AI is a win-win proposition that can become a competitive advantage for Europe: being a leader of human-centric AI that people can trust."

Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel added, "Today, we are taking an important step towards ethical and secure AI in the EU. We now have a solid foundation based on EU values and following an extensive and constructive engagement from many stakeholders including businesses, academia and civil society. We will now put these requirements to practice and at the same time foster an international discussion on human-centric AI."

European Commission's Approach

To counter legal and ethical challenges posed by AI, European Commission establishing the key requirements for trustworthy AI along with large scale pilot phase for feedback from stakeholders. The Commission is also trying to build international consensus for human-centric AI.

The announcement noted that the AI high-level group has drafted AI ethics guideline and the European Commission further highlighted the seven key requirements for trustworthy AI in the communication,

1. Human agency and oversight
2. Technical robustness and safety
3. Privacy and Data Governance
4. Transparency
5. Diversity, non-discrimination, and fairness
6. Societal and environmental well-being
7. Accountability

European Commission is also trying to build consensus on human-centric AI internationally by playing an active role in international discussions and initiatives including the G7 and G20.

The pilot program will start in Summer 2019, and AI high-level expert group will explain the guidelines to relevant stakeholders in the Member States. The pilot phase will also include companies from other countries and international organizations, says the announcement.