seek reference to local and regional authorities in the future regulatory framework on artificial intelligence: they should be recognised as an awareness raiser, a mobiliser of stakeholders for implementation, a guardian of citizen's rights, and as an adviser to the national authorities;
formulate amendments to the current proposal for a regulation with a view to the above-mentioned concerns;
update its policy recommendations with reference to the latest EU Communication on a coordinated action plan in the area of artificial intelligence.
The EP AIDA committee rapporteur has acknowledged in his work the importance of such issues raised by the CoR Opinion as the need to focus on how to achieve an ecosystem of AI excellence. The EP AIDA rapporteur has stated that European success in the area of AI hinges on 1) the digital infrastructure, deployment of broadband and 5G technology and quantum computing, and 2) the need to educate people to acquire digital and AI skills at all stages of education and employment. Both of these aspects are in line with the CoR political work on this subject. They have been included into the road map for Europe to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence, adopted by the EP AIDA committee on 13 January 2022.
Moreover, in the area of regulatory policy priorities, the European Parliament has pledged to prioritise AI, along with platforms and cryptocurrencies in its work in 2022. More specifically, Parliament has called for a comprehensive legal framework for artificial intelligence technologies and cryptocurrencies. The goal is to boost the European economy, while protecting the fundamental rights of consumers and investors. These concerns were stressed in all the inter-institutional contacts of the CoR rapporteur. However, work still needs to be done to ensure taht the EU Regulation in the field of Artificial Intelligence explicitly allow regions and cities to participate in the monitoring of AI systems and report on their implementation.
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
recommends, inter alia, to add the following legislative amendments:
- Article 13b Transparency and information to persons affected:
Persons or groups of persons for whom a high-risk AI system is intended to be used shall be informed in an appropriate, easily accessible and comprehensible manner, and have access to explicit, readily accessible and publicly available information of such use;
- Article 19(1):
The providers of high-risk AI systems shall publish the EU declaration of conformity and a summary of the conformity assessment in a publicly accessible place;
- Article 29, new paragraph after paragraph 6:
Users of high-risk AI systems shall be responsible for making an ethical assessment before putting the system into use. They shall be able to explain the possible impact of the deployment of the technology on people and society. They shall specify their intended purpose in deploying the AI system, the overarching values, how those values have been weighted and whether or not they have been implemented in the system. They shall assess the actual impact of the system on people and society throughout the life cycle of the AI system;
- Article 59(1):
Local and regional authorities shall be empowered to carry out supervisory or enforcement tasks where deemed appropriate by the Member State.