Joint Statement ahead of negotiations on legal framework on AI in the Council of Europe
Today, the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) at the Council of Europe launches the negotiations on a new legal framework on Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. In a Joint Statement, AlgorithmWatch and other civil society organizations urge Member States to create an AI governance framework that is truly oriented at the Council of Europe’s mandate: the protection of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
The work of CAI will build on that of its predecessor, the Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI). AlgorithmWatch has participated in CAHAI as an official observer – and will continue to do so in the framework of the future negotiations in CAI.
CAHAI’s final recommendations were adopted at its final plenary in December 2021 and will now inform the negotiations being launched in CAI. As civil society organizations having participated in the process over the last two years, we are afraid that the CAHAI’s recommendations fall short of what is needed in terms of ensuring full respect for and protection of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
In this Joint Statement, we call upon the members of CAI :
(i) to unambiguously include within the scope of the future legal instrument AI systems used in the context of national security.
(ii) to unambiguously include within the scope of the future legal instrument civilian uses of AI systems that are potentially ‘dual use’, i.e. which could be used for both military and non-military purposes.
(iii) to ensure that any new legal framework complements and reinforces international human rights frameworks and does not undermine or seek to replace existing human rights standards applicable to AI.
(iv) to continue in and reinforce the spirit of its predecessor CAHAI with respect to the inclusion and meaningful participation of civil society.
Read the full statement here:
The Joint Statement was drafted by AlgorithmWatch with the support of Access Now, Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), Conference of International NGOs at the Council of Europe, Global Partners Digital and Homo Digitalis.
Read more on our policy & advocacy work on ADM in the public sector.