Battle in Strasbourg: Civil society fights for safeguards against AI harms
With negotiations on a Convention on Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Council of Europe entering a crucial stage, a joint statement by AlgorithmWatch and ten other civil society organizations reminds negotiating states of their mandate : to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. To adhere to this mandate and to counter both narrow state interest and companies’ lobbying, the voice of civil society must be listened to.
Foto von Christian Lue auf Unsplash
Angela Müller
Head of Policy & Advocacy | Executive Director AlgorithmWatch CH
The Council of Europe aims to become host of one of the first truly global international treaties on setting rules to avoid harm stemming from the development or use of so-called AI systems. Negotiations have started over a year ago with high objectives in mind : to uphold the Council of Europe mandate when it comes to AI, thus to safeguard human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
Today, civil society organizations observing the negotiations fear that this objective risks being watered down as it is now hitting the ground of political reality. In a joint statement, they urge negotiating states to take a stand, to prioritize people over commercial interests, and to explicitly introduce effective safeguards to protect us from harms caused by the use of AI.
Read our full statement below.
Signed by:
Access Now
AlgorithmWatch
BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation
CAIDP – Center for AI and Digital Policy
Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe
Digitale Gesellschaft Switzerland
Fair Trials
Global Partners Digital
Homo Digitalis
ALLAI
Pour Demain
Organizations or individuals who would like to endorse the statement and add their signature, please send an e-mail with your name and affiliation to emily@ecnl.org until July 10, COB.
