International Policy – Law – Diplomacy

For several years, the topic of regulating AI has taken a prominent role on the policy agendas on local, regional and international levels. As more governmental organisations are proposing recommendations and concrete legislative steps towards regulating this fast developing technology,
the policy discussions are getting more intense. At the international level, the CAHAI under the Council of Europe is working on the potential elements of a legal framework and the European Commission has even published a comprehensive regulatory proposal to ensure a human-centric usage of AI. A clear example of debate on the meaning of human control is to be found in the discussion within the UN on AI controlled autonomous weapons systems. Meanwhile several states around the world are also working on other policies and regulations. For example, in the US, several states have either enacted or are working on regulations on biometric identification and recognition systems and California has developed the Automated Decision Systems Accountability Act. All these initiatives try to make the way we develop and use AI more responsible in such a way that they respect, or even strengthen fundamental rights. But how do we ensure the connection between all those legislative initiatives given the cross-border nature of AI technology? And can policymakers learn from best practices in other states? The connection between legal frameworks and ethical dilemmas is sometimes overseen. However a transparent discussion on ethical principles and the use of AI could help us to better understand the difficulties we face and the standards we want to uphold in the production, development and use of AI. Could a set of ethical principle help us to clear the path for legislative instruments and legal standards? To what extent should initiatives made more explicitly connected, for instance when ethical or human-rights related regulation contributes to predictability for investors and innovators? This track aims to facilitate these dialogues by bringing together experts on (inter)national AI policies and regulations from around the world.