European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
Mihalis Kritikos
Prioritising ethical principles in the governance of disruptive technologies
In view of the (now published) legislative proposal on artificial intelligence (AI), the workshop focused on identifying the main ethical challenges associated with the development of disruptive technologies and the best practices for mitigating the related risks. Continue reading
Principled governance of online platforms to safeguard social and labour rights
Online platforms such as Google, Amazon and Facebook play an increasingly central role in the economy and society and are recasting the relationships between customers, advertisers, workers and employers. Continue reading
What if consumers could use devices to sequence DNA? [Science and Technology podcast]
The genetic ‘alphabet’ contains four ‘letters’ or, in other words, four chemical codes for the information stored in DNA, representing a sequence that, if unwrapped, can stretch up to two metres and fill a book of one million pages. Continue reading
Can online platforms have a net positive effect on the economy and society?
Online platforms, such as Google, Amazon and Facebook, play an increasingly central role in the economy and society. They have grown to an unprecedented scale, propelled by data-driven business models. Continue reading
When are online platforms liable for illegal or harmful content?
The current EU liability framework is incredibly complex and often inadapted to modern entities. It is therefore difficult for the subjects involved to understand exactly when a given obligation applies to them, and what kind of behaviour is required. Continue reading
Work in the era of AI: Time for a Digital Social Contract
Technological change, far from being deterministic in its nature and effects, is open to reform. There is no guarantee that digital technologies will destroy jobs, nor any certainty that these technologies will lead to more and better jobs. Continue reading
Surveillance capitalism and Europe’s moral duty to shape a human-centric digital future
‘The European Union represents humanity’s best hope to prevent lawless, unprecedented computational concentrations of knowledge and power from becoming as irreversible and poisonous to our societies as the toxic concentrations of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have become to our earth.’ Continue reading
Digital revolution and legal evolution: Athens Roundtable on the Rule of Law and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is affecting the architecture and implementation of law in several ways. AI systems are being introduced in regulatory and standards-setting bodies and courts in several jurisdictions, to advance the functions of the la w and facilitate access to justice. Continue reading
What if blockchain could guarantee ethical AI? [Science and Technology podcast]
Blockchain has the potential to promote compliance with traditional ethical principles, especially in the fields of healthcare, supply chain management and food safety. Continue reading
What if AI could improve thermal imaging, to help fight coronavirus? [Science and Technology podcast]
Thermal imaging cameras have been widely installed in recent months in office buildings, hospitals, shopping malls, schools and airports as a means of detecting people with fever-like symptoms. Continue reading
What if artificial intelligence in medical imaging could accelerate Covid-19 treatment?
Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions can help radiologists with the triage, quantification and trend analysis of patient data. AI-powered medical imaging is already used to detect critical diseases, and medical imaging has played a significant role in the fight against Covid-19, easing the pressure on healthcare systems. Continue reading
Workplace monitoring in the era of artificial intelligence
Workers’ interests should always be at the forefront of company approaches to privacy and data protection and worker representatives must always be consulted when a new technology is considered for workplace operations and analytics. Continue reading
What if AI-powered passenger locator forms could help stop the spread of Covid-19?
Asking passengers to complete a passenger locator form (PLF) prior to their flights has been seen in recent months as an efficient way to help public health authorities trace travellers potentially exposed to Covid-19 in airports and ports and at other border check points. Continue reading
Digital human rights and the future of democracy: Lessons from the pandemic
Digital technologies are increasingly shaping our economy, politics, and society. As many online activities leave a digital trace, our digital activity allows automatic gathering of a wealth of behavioural data. Continue reading
Mapping the AI ethics initiatives terrain
While artificial intelligence (AI) applications are numerous, AI creates novel ethical challenges that threaten both users and non-users of the technology, including exacerbating existing inequalities and generating discrimination and bias. Continue reading
Digital contact tracing: Call for a stronger EU-wide approach
There is no trade-off between privacy and health in the context of contact tracing applications as, without citizens’ trust, no technology can deliver the expected outcomes. Continue reading
GDPR and AI: making sense of a complex relationship
The development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools should take place in a socio-technical framework where individual interests and the social good are preserved but also opportunities for social knowledge and better governance are enhanced without leading to the extremes of ‘surveillance capitalism’ and ‘surveillance state’. Continue reading
Artificial intelligence: From ethics to policy
The public service revolution expected from the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) simultaneously promises positive change and threatens negative societal impacts – we only need to mention ‘predictive policing’ to comprehend the potential for both service efficiencies and unintended consequences. Continue reading
STOA meets experts on coronavirus: Challenges, opportunities and the way forward
Striking the right balance between managing the health-related risks of the Covid‑19 pandemic and mitigating the possible socio-economic impacts of the containment measures is a delicate political exercise, being performed on the basis of imperfect data. Continue reading
Ten technologies to fight Covid-19
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic intensifies, technological applications and initiatives are multiplying in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease, treat patients and facilitate the work of overworked healthcare workers. Continue reading
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