23 February 2023
ChatGPT in Colombian Courts
Colombian judges have transcribed ChatGPT’s outputs to motivate their rulings without examining whether the content produced by the chatbot was accurate. Ensuring digital literacy of the judiciary is critical in times of generative artificial intelligence. Continue reading >>
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24 January 2023
The Council of Europe Creates a Black Box for AI Policy
The Council of Europe Committee on AI has made a startling decision to carry forward future work on the development of an international convention on AI behind closed doors, despite the Council’s call for the Democratic Governance of Artificial Intelligence in a 2020 resolution. It is a surprising move from an international organization that has been at the forefront of efforts to promote greater transparency and accountability for the technology that is transforming the world. Continue reading >>
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20 January 2023
Understanding and Regulating ChatGPT, and Other Large Generative AI Models
Large generative AI models are shaking up the research community and society at large, rapidly changing the way we communicate, illustrate, and create. What has rarely been noticed, however, is that the EU, since the spring of 2022, has quietly been preparing far-reaching rules to explicitly regulate these models. We make three concrete proposals. Continue reading >>
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05 January 2023
Preserving Procedural Fairness in The AI Era
AI systems have been used and challenged by individuals affected by their output. In the absence of a regulatory framework, national courts in Europe have been called upon to address claimants’ demands for fairness and legal protection. While they have been activists in preserving individuals’ procedural rights by setting requirements for AI systems, the courts' role is, however, doomed to change when the AI Act enters into force. Continue reading >>
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05 October 2022
Filtering fundamental rights
On platforms, the protection of fundamental rights is increasingly provided by algorithms. With the Digital Services Act (DSA) at the door, algorithms used for copyright protection were probably only the first step in regard to automated decision-making. Indeed, the DSA, conceived by the Union legislator as the new constitution of the Internet, presupposes the use of algorithmic filtering. Human pre-examination has become impossible due to the sheer amount of user-generated content. Filters are an effective moderation tool that is cost-effective compared to human review. But being fast is easier than being right: the usual method of applying European fundamental rights hangs heavily on the proportionality test, which at least at the current technological level escapes automation: fundamental rights cannot be filtered. Continue reading >>23 June 2022
Tackling Discrimination in Targeted Advertising
On 21 June Meta and the US Department for Housing and Urban Development released a legal settlement that will restrict Meta’s ability to offer those clients some of its core ad-targeting products. It resolves (for now) a long-running case over discriminatory targeting of housing adverts. Meta is now prohibited from using certain targeting tools in this context, and has promised new tools to ensure more representative targeting. This US lawsuit should be a wake-up call for European regulators, reminding them that taking systemic discrimination seriously requires proactive regulatory reform and enforcement. The relevant provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) are largely symbolic. Continue reading >>
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30 March 2022
Artificial Intelligence, Human Flourishing and the Rule of Law
One function of the rule of law is the promotion of human flourishing, often represented by the term ‘autonomy’. However, the ability to rely on the rule of law as a tool for counteracting AI’s constricting effect on human flourishing is being negated as the composition and design AI systems flout the ideals that the rule of law demand as necessary for a certain type of society. Continue reading >>
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14 December 2021
The EU’s Proposed Platform Work Directive
On 8 December 2021, the European Commission published its long-awaited draft of a Directive aimed at improving working conditions in the platform (or ‘gig’) economy. Our tentative first assessment is positive: while there is some room for improvement during the legislative process, the framework laid down promises to tackle some of the most salient problems arising from platform work. Continue reading >>
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27 May 2021
Workers vs Algorithms
On 11 May, Spain passed a new provision that regulates algorithmic transparency in the employment field. This new norm gives workers the right to be informed about the parameters, rules and instructions via which algorithms or artificial intelligence systems impact their working conditions and determine access to employment. The provision, for its novelty, appears to be ambitious, but its potential limitations and practical consequences will determine its success. Continue reading >>
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