Today, the new COE Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) holds its first plenary meeting, launching a two-year negotiation process on a new legal framework on the development, design, and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. ECNL has been confirmed to be representing the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations of the Council of Europe (CINGO) at the CAI.
The work of CAI will build on that of its predecessor, the Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI). CAHAI adopted its final recommendations in December 2021, which will now inform the negotiations being launched in CAI. Civil society organisations already warned that 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 a joint statement signed by CINGO, we now call for the new legal instrument to comprehensively cover the use of AI systems, including for national security purposes and potential dual use systems. Specifically, we call upon the members of CAI to the following:
- AI systems used in the context of national security must be included in the scope of the future legal instrument;
- 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;
- 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;
- Continue in and reinforce the spirit of its predecessor CAHAI with respect to the inclusion and meaningful participation of civil society.
Download the full statement below: