News

AI Regulations – Open Doors for National Discussion

Published: May 18, 2022

How will regulations shape AI technology in the future? How do national policies and organisations work together? These are some of the questions that will be discussed by academia and industry when WASP-HS (The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanities and Society) opens its doors for national online discussion on 19 May.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a major impact on many aspects of our daily lives. For example, AI has an effect on algorithms that influence what we buy and the entertainment we consume. How to develop regulatory frameworks to guide the development, design and application of AI is a hot topic. Last April, the European Parliament published a proposal for the AI Act, a law to regulate the use of AI systems and services in the EU market. The proposal sets out a regulatory vision based on European standards for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

“We hope to bring together a group of interdisciplinary stakeholders to discuss the complex challenges posed by AI regulation and in particular the forthcoming AI Act,” says Liane Colonna, Associate Professor of Law and Information Technology at Stockholm University, and one of the chairs of the meeting.

A crucial question is whether we already have the technology to comply with the proposed regulation and to what extent the requirements of this regulation can be enforced. These issues will be addressed during the discussion.

“During the afternoon, we hope to identify some of the main tensions, but also where we need to work more to protect and strengthen democratic decision-making,” says Michael Strange, Associate Professor of International Relations at Malmö University.

The event will begin with an introduction by Professor Virginia Dignum, WASP-HS Programme Director. This will be followed by a presentation by keynote speaker Catelijne Muller, President and co-founder of ALLAI – an independent organisation working to drive and promote responsible AI. The discussions and conclusions of the meeting will be summarised in a written report published online after the meeting.