Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, governance and policy challenges

Despite still being in its infancy, artificial intelligence (AI) has already shown enormous potential to advance humanity towards new frontiers of prosperity and growth. Due to its powerful force, however, AI can also pose significant risks, which should be handled with the utmost care, but not with fear. The world’s top political leaders have understood AI’s disruptive potential and are rushing to secure a competitive advantage in this crucial emerging domain, even at the price of reviving old-fashioned industrial policy. At the same time, academia and civil society are calling for widely shared ethical principles to avoid negative repercussions. In this fast-changing context, Europe is struggling to keep pace with superpowers like the United States and China.

This report summarises the work of the CEPS Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, which met throughout 2018. Arguing that the EU and its member states are uniquely positioned to lead the global community towards responsible, sustainable AI development, its members call upon European leaders to focus on leveraging AI’s potential to foster sustainable development in line with the 2030 Agenda. The report puts forward 44 recommendations on how to design and promote lawful, responsible and sustainable AI and how to approach future policy and investment decisions with the aim of positioning Europe in the driver’s seat to address the most disruptive technology transition of our times.