Abstract
The European legislative framework for the development and regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to take shape: the European Commission published on April 21st, 2021, a proposal for a regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence, and various position papers and non-legislative acts of other European bodies are paving the way for the EU to take the lead in the development of a legislative framework for AI.
As the European Commission clearly summarised, AI should be “a tool for people and be a force for good in society with the ultimate aim of increasing human well-being”. Although not a member of the United Nations, the EU takes part in its activities and shares the commitments of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Indeed, the EU works towards the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both at Union and at member states’ level. It is therefore to be expected (as well as desirable) that the new legislative framework will be supportive of the achievement of the SDGs.
This paper will describe the required characteristics of AI according to existing European legislative and non-legislative tools and will analyse which elements contribute to the achievement of SDGs and which aspects can, instead, hinder their full completion. Attention will be given to aspects such as the auditability of AI reasoning, equity of potential outcomes, human-centricity and the protection of human rights.
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Notes
- 1.
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union legislative acts, available at: EUR-Lex - 52021PC0206 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu), last accessed in October 2021.
- 2.
Further information on the EU strategy for AI is available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-approach-artificial-intelligence, last accessed in October 2021.
- 3.
The EU’s approach to artificial intelligence, The International Institute for Strategic Studies, also available at: the-eus-approach-to-artificial-intelligence.pdf (iiss.org), last accessed in October 2021.
- 4.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Fostering a European approach to Artificial Intelligence, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2021:205:FIN, last accessed in October 2021.
- 5.
The Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence 2021 Review is available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/coordinated-plan-artificial-intelligence-2021-review, last accessed in October 2021.
- 6.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Artificial Intelligence for Europe, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2018%3A237%3AFIN, last accessed in October 2021.
- 7.
See Artificial Intelligence for Europe Factsheet, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=51610, last accessed in September 2021.
- 8.
Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI, available at: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai, last accessed in October 2021.
- 9.
Among these, the White Paper of the European Commission On Artificial Intelligence – A European approach to excellence and trust, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/commission-white-paper-artificial-intelligence-feb2020_en.pdf, last accessed in October 2021; the Report on AI for Good, Global Summit, held in Geneva in 2017, available at: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/AI/Documents/Report/AI_for_Good_Global_Summit_Report_2017.pdf, last accessed in October 2021.
- 10.
AI Regulation Proposal, page 1.
- 11.
Further information is available at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-plan-for-a-green-transition/, last accessed in October 2021.
- 12.
Climavision, a weather forecasting service, is using radar technology, GPS technology and a proprietary software to improve the timing and accuracy of weather forecasting. Further information is available at: https://therisefund.com/news/rise-fund-announces-100-million-strategic-investment-climavision, last accessed in September 2021. In Japan, instead, technology is used to provide citizens with timing alerts for natural disasters, like earthquakes. Further information is available at: https://news.trust.org/item/20210308082452-utr0s/, last accessed in September 2021.
- 13.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Report on The State of Food and Agriculture, 2019, available at: http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-agriculture/2019/en/, last accessed in October 2021.
- 14.
Further information is available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/curtmueller/2021/08/09/supply-chain-ai-a-food-additive-that-wont-harm-our-health/, last accessed in September 2021.
- 15.
Artificial Intelligence and Gender Equality, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Key findings of UNESCO’s Global Dialogue, available at: https://en.unesco.org/system/files/artificial_intelligence_and_gender_equality.pdf, last accessed in October 2021.
- 16.
Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/2161/oj, last accessed in October 2021.
- 17.
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016R0679, last accessed in October 2021.
- 18.
Further information is available at: https://in.one.un.org/page/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-14/, last accessed in October 2021.
- 19.
See further at: From rogue AI to nuclear war, the 10 biggest threats facing civilisation | WIRED UK, last accessed in October 2021.
- 20.
According to a 2019 McKinsey Global Institute report, available here the-future-of-work-in-america-full-report.pdf (wordpress.com), 39 million full-time jobs could be automated by 2030.
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Benedetti del Rio, V. (2023). Ethical AI: The European Approach to Achieving the SDGs Through AI. In: Mazzi, F., Floridi, L. (eds) The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence for the Sustainable Development Goals . Philosophical Studies Series, vol 152. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21147-8_10
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