Expert opinion: Regulating AI in Europe

Expert explainer: The EU AI Act Proposal

 
People, risk and the unique requirements of AI

 
Based in the UK and Brussels, the Ada Lovelace Institute aims to understand and influence developments in European legislation relating to data and AI, how they affect people and societies and how they might affect the future of global regulation. Since last summer, the Ada Lovelace Institute has been studying the nature and impact of the proposed EU AI Act.

As the first comprehensive attempt in the world to regulate AI, the Act has the potential to become a global standard in the regulation of AI and serve as inspiration for other legislative initiatives around the world. One year on from publication of the proposed legislation, we are pleased to have published three distinct outputs in response to the Act.

Expert opinion: Regulating AI in Europe: four problems and four solutions is an expert opinion, authored by Professor Lilian Edwards, Professor of Law, Innovation and Society at Newcastle University. The paper offers a critique of the existing AI Act relevant to the EU legislative process, as well as a survey of its flaws as a potential global model for ‘getting AI right’.

Expert explainer: Alongside this, we have published an expert explainer on the AI Act, also authored by Professor Edwards. This provides a description of the Act’s significance, scope and main points for those interested in global AI regulation but unfamiliar with the legislation. We hope it will be particularly useful for UK and global policymakers.

Policy briefing: Building on this, Ada’s policy briefing – People, risk and the unique requirements of AI: 18 recommendations to strengthen the EU AI Act – proposes specific amendments to the Act for EU lawmakers. These have been refined through research and convening by Ada and revolve around three areas:

• Recognising and empowering those affected by AI
• Expanding and reshaping the role of ‘risk’
• Accurately reflecting the nature of AI systems and how they are developed, deployed and adapted

Continuing the EU policy theme, this week we also published a blog post on the EU’s proposals for improving working conditions in the gig economy, co-authored by Antonio Aloisi and Despoina Georgiou.

Over 28 million people in the EU have their work mediated by digital platforms. The EU’s proposed Directive follows growing concern about issues related to the status, protection and rights of those working in the platform economy, as well as an increasing number of legal cases and worker protests.

The authors offer a critique of the draft Directive, particularly in relation to the employment status of platform workers and the algorithmic management of their work.