During a lesson on Knowledge Day in September 2017, Russian President Vladimir said: “Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world”. Technology seems to have the power to change our work, our society and our daily life. It has become almost indispensable in everyday activities, and it involves many aspects of our lives. According to many experts, academics and policymakers, we are in the middle of the 4th industrial revolution that will affect our societies in the next decades. The real actor in this process is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has become more present and essential both in the private and public sector. AI is changing many aspects of people’s lives and bring important benefits to society and the economy thanks to better healthcare, an efficient public administration, and safer transport. Comprehending and analysing AI is fundamental in order to embrace the next challenges of the future, and to be competitive with other global leaders. How can AI be used by Europe as a whole? Which are the rules that would be considered in the following years? And how would the rest of the world react to such innovations? How the EU should we respond to such innovation and create a quality brand? Intending to respond to these questions, the present paper examines the AI framework in Europe, its legal and ethical implications. This paper is divided into three sections: the first one gives an overall vision on AI and on the state of the art worldwide; the second one analyses the efforts that EU is making and should make to become a relevant character in the AI race; and finally the conclusion focuses on what lacks to Europe to be a global leader in the AI field. The United States (US) and China are clearly the world’s leaders in such environment. On the other way round, the European Union (EU), is not in the game, despite the recent legislation developed by the Commission. In order to maximise the development of AI, new rules are necessary to guarantee principles, rights, and a fair use of it. To tackle the huge development carried out by the AI world’s leaders, Europe should respond by setting two objectives: on one hand, to create a positive environment to invest; on the other hand, to emerge as a quality brand for AI, as recently happened with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The paper argues that the EU is pointing to become a sort of referee in such field, spreading rules and guidelines in the digital environment. Nevertheless, leading in this field would not permit Europe to explore the opportunities that AI may give to European technological process.
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Artificial Intelligence and Europe: Risks, Developments and Implications
Semantic Scholar · Political Science · 2020
Abstract
During a lesson on Knowledge Day in September 2017, Russian President Vladimir said: “Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world”.
Technology seems to have the power to change our work, our society and our daily life. It has become almost indispensable in everyday activities, and it involves many aspects of our lives. According to many experts, academics and policymakers, we are in the middle of the 4th industrial revolution that will affect our societies in the next decades. The real actor in this process is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has become more present and essential both in the private and public sector. AI is changing many aspects of people’s lives and bring important benefits to society and the economy thanks to better healthcare, an efficient public administration, and safer transport. Comprehending and analysing AI is fundamental in order to embrace the next challenges of the future, and to be competitive with other global leaders.
How can AI be used by Europe as a whole? Which are the rules that would be considered in the following years? And how would the rest of the world react to such innovations? How the EU should we respond to such innovation and create a quality brand? Intending to respond to these questions, the present paper examines the AI framework in Europe, its legal and ethical implications. This paper is divided into three sections: the first one gives an overall vision on AI and on the state of the art worldwide; the second one analyses the efforts that EU is making and should make to become a relevant character in the AI race; and finally the conclusion focuses on what lacks to Europe to be a global leader in the AI field. The United States (US) and China are clearly the world’s leaders in such environment. On the other way round, the European Union (EU), is not in the game, despite the recent legislation developed by the Commission. In order to maximise the development of AI, new rules are necessary to guarantee principles, rights, and a fair use of it. To tackle the huge development carried out by the AI world’s leaders, Europe should respond by setting two objectives: on one hand, to create a positive environment to invest; on the other hand, to emerge as a quality brand for AI, as recently happened with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The paper argues that the EU is pointing to become a sort of referee in such field, spreading rules and guidelines in the digital environment. Nevertheless, leading in this field would not permit Europe to explore the opportunities that AI may give to European technological process.