As AI rises, lawmakers try to catch up
- – ‘Mug’s game’ –
- – ‘Too challenging’ –
- – ‘Flesh wound’ –
From “intelligent” vacuum cleaners and driverless cars to advanced techniques for diagnosing diseases, artificial intelligence has burrowed its way into every arena of modern life.Its promoters reckon it is revolutionising human experience, but critics stress that the technology risks putting machines in charge of life-changing decisions.Regulators in Europe and North America are worried.The European Union is likely to pass legislation next year — the AI Act — aimed at reining in the age of the algorithm.The United States recently published a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and Canada is also mulling legislation.Looming large in the debates has been China’s use of biometric data, facial recognition and other technology to build a powerful system of control.Gry Hasselbalch, a Danish academic who advises the EU on the controversial technology, argued that the West was also in danger of creating “totalitarian infrastructures”.“I see that as a huge threat, no matter the benefits,” she told AFP.But before regulators can act, they face the daunting task of defining what AI actually is.