Today, the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, which was appointed by the Commission in June, released the first draft of its Ethics Guidelines for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). In this document, the independent group of 52 experts coming from academia, business and civil society, sets out how developers and users can make sure AI respects fundamental rights, applicable regulation and core principles, and how the technology can be made technically robust and reliable.

Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip and Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel thanked the group for their work.

Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said:

AI can bring major benefits to our societies, from helping diagnose and cure cancers to reducing energy consumption. But for people to accept and use AI-based systems, they need to trust them, know that their privacy is respected, that decisions are not biased. The work of the expert group is very important in this regard and I encourage everyone to share their comments to help finalise the guidelines.

Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel added:

The use of artificial intelligence, like the use of all technology must always be aligned with our core values and uphold fundamental rights. The purpose of the ethics guidelines is to ensure this in practice. Since this challenge concerns all sectors of our society, it is important that everybody can comment and contribute to the work in progress. Please join the European AI Alliance and let us have your feedback!

Update: The draft Ethics Guidelines are now open for comments until 1 February and discussions are taking place through the European AI Alliance, the EU’s multi-stakeholder platform on AI.

In March 2019, the expert group will present their final guidelines to the Commission which will analyse them and propose how to take this work forward. The ambition is then to bring Europe's ethical approach to the global stage. The Commission is opening up cooperation to all non-EU countries that are willing to share the same values.

Background

Following its European approach on AI published in April 2018, the Commission set up a High-Level Expert Group on AI, which consists of 52 independent experts representing academia, industry, and civil society. This first draft Ethics Guidelines were prepared through a number of meetings since June 2018 and takes into account feedback from many discussions through the European AI Alliance. It also follows the announcements of the EU coordinated plan with the Member States, the Declaration of Cooperation on AI and the proposed investment of at least €7 billion in AI from the Horizon Europe and Digital Europe programmes.

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