For the third day in a row, lawmakers and governments European Union (EU) met this Friday Brussels accept the law artificial intelligence (AI). As of yesterday, a preliminary agreement was reached on the rules that will regulate the systems. ChatGPT, but the center of today’s tense negotiations biometric surveillance and to use this police And army can do this technologya controversial possibility that dozens of non-governmental organizations have condemned.
In June the European Parliament passed the ban face recognition Considering that its use may pose an “unacceptable risk” human rights. Over the last few hours, members of the European Parliament leading the drafting of new legislation have faced strong pressure from parliament. European Commission and by EU governments represented by the Spanish presidency. Forbidden and we open the door to an exception that allows such use artificial intelligence for national security or defense purposes.
Member states are also pressuring lawmakers to reduce the law’s requirements and allow both policing and policing. armed forces Use AI for real-time biometric surveillance (identification of a person through scanning of their physical characteristics), predictive systems, and emotion recognition. These last two technologies raise a lot of skepticism among experts because there is no evidence that they work and what the consequences are. fundamental rights It can be very important. Even more so, when applied border for surveillance of people immigrants.
It is a body represented by the Council of the EU. Spainalso puts pressure on Security forces can use biometric systems to create profiles of people racePolitical views or religious beliefs if these characteristics “have a direct relationship to a specific crime or threat.”
Civil and expert complaint
This position is seen as threatening by civil society groups, European organizations Data protection and even the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the ban of these systems that may threaten human health. privacy. “It’s extremist, it’s racist, it’s dystopian and it has no place in our society,” said Daniel Leufer, a technology analyst for the digital rights organization Access Now.
“The Council’s proposals would give the police the green light to use artificial intelligence tools that are inherently discriminatory. mass surveillance This undermines the foundation of our rights and the rule of law,” reads a letter signed by 47 non-governmental organizations and twenty prominent experts from the Prensa Ibérica Group, which El Periódico de Catalunya had access to. introduced another letter complaint.
Parliament’s counter-proposal
Dissatisfaction with the council’s proposal caused trilateral talks to stall in the early hours of Thursday, and a lack of understanding forced the parties to pause talks to restart them this Friday.
But nothing guarantees that definitive agreement on the law will be reached today. And the European Parliament, together with the centre-left Italian MP Brando Benifei At the forefront, he closed the ranks against the proposal of the EU governments and prepared a counter-proposal. “This is not always what we want, but it is better than what the Council wants,” civil society sources explain to El Periódico de Catalunya.
After analyzing the issue, private media Euractiv journalist Luca Bertuzzi reported that the Spanish presidency “seems willing to make concessions on the bans, but remains strict on exemptions for national security reasons.”