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AI and democracy: a legal perspective
Philippe Gilliéron, Attorney-at-Law, Wilhelm Gilliéron avocats
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 · 2:30 p.m. · 18m 24s
The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both exciting opportunities and significant challenges for democratic societies. Its opaque nature and potential for bias, misinformation and risks of manipulation raise critical legal and ethical concerns that threaten the core principles of democracy. Using real-world use cases to illustrate the potential impact of AI on democratic values, this talk will explore these concerns from a legal perspective, in particular in light of the forthcoming EU AI Act.
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hi everyone i hope you can you can hear me i'm sure this is quite a broad topic to
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address in fifteen minutes uh that your perspective l. e. i. n. democracy but i try at least to
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to do my best to give you a snapshot uh on certain certain points maybe some preliminary remarks um
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there's no doubt that internet uh has the market has access
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to content and vastly expanded you need words ability to create
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share receive all kinds of backpack transforming uh
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our relations balls was communication and with each other
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uh alongside those benefits however there is no doubt either
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that internet has entered societies and the individualised to their detriment
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internet as being a channel and remain a channel that
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to disseminate a harmful online content uh serving as a vehicle
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uh to basically a whole body in this information
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page with information on the on the mining in the and the safety and the dignity of individuals and
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dividing societies and this devising democracies at
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examples not related to a ah um
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these traits are not due the cambridge analytic ask and that everybody remembers it
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as well as basically what actually was talking about so the report by uh
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robert moore about uh the russian interference during the two thousand sixteen
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presidential election so the fact that algorithms basically you are
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designed to cater online content to each user's
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preference uh at has led to polarisation and fragmentation
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on the of a society's captivating more extremist i.
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d.s and two eroding cohesion to a large extent
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couple of that event and closely related to that event of social midi out
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uh and the concentration of power in a handful of big
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tech companies that have remained largely unregulated so for that um
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it's basically a created the society of surveillance capitalism as above puts it in these uh it's i
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mean the work that basically uh where private actors sorry competes with governmental institutions are so what about
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yeah well yeah at some points it only has an really five these concerns ah due to the
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rapid advancement of the technology uh what so what are these rights we've already touched upon smuggle quick
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but typically you can take examples uh already in the us a couple of years ago where they was
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a a a case that went up to the peace comes in supreme court uh uh related to the use of uh
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close i'm close source risk assessment tool to assess a of fans and the risk of
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real fans of a convicted people and where the question was okay i mean can we basically
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trust these two oh uh how does a court assess
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basically the the transparency of the algorithm behind et cetera
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uh it from a due process standpoint uh uh uh so that's a key issue
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just for you to know the biscuits in supreme court finally ruled
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that it was o. k. that there should be improvement in the future
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as to information it's uh try to try and understand that the girls
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by this isn't discrimination everywhere i'm typically for
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twos for a hiring decisions a fundamental rights you
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know that in china that's seven hundred million
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cameras everywhere basically which obviously is a serious uh
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fundamental right uh issue engaging effect on democratic participation and effects we've already mentioned that
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i would say the fake not only for this information that's one thing that but also for private related issues that can have
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a serious impact i'm thinking about revenge for for instance and you know that in the us not there is a of you
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which is being discussed or do we see that the u. s. are quite reluctant to to to rule on anything but
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on that regard they are thinking of putting a bomb on this type of uh
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rightfully so deep that face still there are certain a coalition which exist and probably
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you know it of the c. to p. a. u. m. i. which is uh
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a partnership in a consortium by certain companies to
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try a enabled the authentication of um content but so
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far it sounds from what i have right i'm not initially and i'm not in a position to assess that
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the outcome and it because see efficiency of these
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two uh oh this partnership the is limited so
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ultimately it sounds that went technology that is the
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problem technology is not always the solution or at least
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it is not always a sufficient um and
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as people basically have becoming increasingly aware of the risks uh
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and potentially harmful effects in association with digital tools and wheeze
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these big tech companies vast economic associated powers it is not a surprise that there is
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a great so cool words for a regulation but then
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the question is what he's a regular to remote ah i
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so basically uh if we look at a at a high
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level we have street types of regulatory mother that exist worldwide
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one he's the us approach so the us approach uh it
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is i would what i would call it technically better and
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you know it's a market driven approach uh then you have
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the china uh which is it clearly states that even approaches
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that technician autocracy i would say and then you have the e. u. which is more human rights oh that driven approach so
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basically the us there is one fundamental right which darren's anything
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it's free speech no free speech free internet incentives to innovate
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and government intervention is considered to compromise the efficiency of the markets and two on
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the mine ultimately individually but ah that's at least the general perspective the china ah
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was in china it's very different the goal is to maximise the country's technological dominance
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while maintaining social what they call our money on a and control over
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the communication so it's rather a tool in service of but of course
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and i you know uh it's very different to humans intrigue approach uh uh uh
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and on like the us of course we speech does exist but it's not
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the only fundamental right to focus on and we try to have a balance
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between different fundamental rights uh and the host uh
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of other considerations the outcome of this is the
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following so in the u. s. typically you have so far which is currently on the review potentially
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but the section code section two hundred thirty of the communications decency
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act which pretty much provide for a wide exemption of interactive service providers
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to say well in it in an action you are not
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liable for whatever happens when you're platforms okay uh and this
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is basically meant to create an incentive for innovation but with
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significant consequence is an because basically they are totally exempted from miami
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it's not now is being put into question uh you have worried about the executive older released a
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last uh wharton i believe by uh the but by then
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administration which is not the regulation actually it's more guidelines to
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try and make some recommendations to before or the react to
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the design it's a trial and governance around a i models so
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the us a perspective heady relies on private sector ah
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and guidelines and codes of conduct in china and so the cyber administration for china what's good yeah
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it's actually a issued a certain number of regulation as well that that
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very specific uh reacted to algorithmic putting all these for instance
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or a more recently with the code into re measures i
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don't know why intervene but interim measures about generated a ah
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and what's quite interesting when you read a transacted i don't read about
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translated in english or in french uh you have certain
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things that ah come on twelve concerns like explain ability
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transparency sources et cetera but it's always in relation
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it's maybe a bit small there it's french translation
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but it's always to say well you need to adhere to the social values it's a try
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to protect basically uh the policy standpoint um uh of the
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cuban communist party so it's always driven uh in that space
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and in the u. we know uh of course there is now the student to call uh
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the u. k. i. actor whose final question is being approved uh
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so what is the regulatory model to follow obviously not expected the
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chinese mother is not acceptable in i'll catch up and it sounds
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more and more than relying on the private sector at the american model proves um
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to gradually be a fader ah in the global presents of big tech companies associated with what is considered
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uh i'm an excessive power they wield a globally
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that triggers backlash now on a worldwide basis and internet
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users are getting more concerned about online harmful content including
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to respond bargain that all foreign interference is with elections
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and as the number of high profile a cases increase
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the tech industry has not distributing in saying that with that
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knowledge is a problem technologies solution and maybe the attack
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uh on the us capital in january two thousand and one
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it's been a turning point basically in the us approach towards a regulating online uh contact so
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we're here with the e. u. governments more than a and what does it mean
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well first of all one should not forget that there is that ah
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international instruments which already exist oh uh it's it's a very long time
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one can mention if you the european convention rights european such a chapters et cetera et cetera i mean
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they all apply well uh it's no matter whether it's a higher something estonia
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uh to enter channels so all these exist and
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apply the last existing national regulations oh you have
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the g. d. p. r. so here in switzerland the figure that that protection act that supply criminal provisions which can
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a regulator that issues such as the phoenix at c. v. liability i kiwis copyright et cetera so
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all that is the framework that is applicable to a ah question being is it sufficient or not ah it's
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another story and should we because all these existing tools
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i would say i'm more from an ex post standpoint ah
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so they're not yet to prevent demo here when the g. p. out
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some point but the ammonia to cure it uh the current e. u.
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e. i. act easier to put a governance framework which is a compliance
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framework uh which is increasing approach for an x. on the approach to say
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we try and address the risk already before the altar so
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how does it look like this you reacted very very uh
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not sure what you have certain underlying principle which i've been
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directed by the ethics guidelines for transfer c. i. and which are
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pretty much in line with the guidelines in principle set forced by the o. e. c. d.
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um so i'm not going to go into the details you can read
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that but it's basically all towards transparency i would say uh in a way
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and the robustness of the the system um
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now yeah i now what is interesting is that b. e. u. regulatory approach
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and human rights approach try to head extract the return on the fact that
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we've seen that with the g. d. already thirty try to say well any
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developer of a system put in the marketing to you wherever they are based
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will be subject to our regulation and any user of the output of such is time
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which is used in the you will also be subject to uh our regulation so it doesn't apply only in the
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u. but as soon as you have the touching point within the you you are submitted to which means pretty much
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not going to see anyone but at least the powerbook
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last light must a much larger variety of entities the structure
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you've or read a lot about that so it's a risk
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based approach which is meant to address these fundamental rights issue
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and try to save quite as well uh what i would call a
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democracy so you have a certain number of areas that that probably beat
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it's important to note is that meet eatery that but bases and national security purposes i kept that out of
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the regulation because it is considered that this is a matter of international public row and moral server a meeting now
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but we know that just the term of national security and you remember the us but we got back it's a trend asked
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it's already very white ah and it gives a lot of a three
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way i would say it was consider that something is national security purpose without
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falling and having to comply with the un backed away across these parties so
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that probably we could track it seems you have a lot ah manipulative techniques
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that should uh however lead to that significant harm whatever that
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means that social scoring um read in reference to china huh
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so read time remote identification system uh i have
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been a a deviated area for a long time
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finally the compromise with that it would be up to member states to assess whether they want
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to uh or allow a realtime remote identification system back before it
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is or not but if they do it will be only for
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limited uh circumstances subject to prior authorisation for judicial
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authority et cetera such as for instance missed children oh
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uh which i didn't quite make sense uh put it it's a pack this is also coming the risk assessment such
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i resist them they are at the core of the regulation basically you have to type of uh
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fees in that space you the ones that are safety
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components of a product already submitted to a compliance regulations such
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as mac spec for instance no medical devices or other system
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that i'm now uh uh you know next uh which is
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related either to uh i would say a risk of biases uh
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and discrimination uh for employment education for instant access
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to a public services uh or that puts it
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a a three seventy the security like critical infrastructure for instance um and then what is uh
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what has come up in the latest versions finally adopted of the u. i. is an exemption up
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of all this is them when there is no a risk to hats uh also fundamental rights
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g. d. i. as opposed to the address i would say the keyword to remember here and i will let you the read
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this like this are interested but its transparency uh basically you
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need to be transparent uh asked to uh uh the generated output
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made from such a system and also have a copyright police i would be curious to see i mean
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how to come up with the copyright policy uh in this type of models and you will have additional
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obligation if uh the g. p. i. issues high
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impact capability which is guaranteeing then explanation twenty five flop
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uh you know better than me what actually decent means um but uh this is it in a very very action
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which is quite significant uh finds um uh if they do not comply
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but a key issue uh and he's actually was touching upon that but as well
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uh is not only the question whether these heavy regulation will
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keener innovation in the you know some people say well it
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is because you are so much regulated that basically you have
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no big take a on like a new light behind us in china it may not be true because we also in
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a fragmented digital signal market we have a lot of their it was we had a lot of languages we have a
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lot of applicable laws uh at it with the finances on the developed oh uh if you want to get as a startup
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more than ten million uh suisse front you need pretty much good to
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the west coast because in switzerland you don't that's that type of investment
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we have to make it bankruptcy load because uh like chapter eleven in
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the us you cannot carry on your activities once robbing cropped up a at
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and you have also we have also need the ability to attract the world best innovative that as we're proactive migration buttons
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so then i'm not the only the question of the regulation that comes into
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play they a lot of other factors that should be maybe put on that's good
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and just to to to to wrap it up so to win this battle over us and
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china uh you it needs to be able to the motor that it's mother can be enforced
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and so far it remains a challenge in to win that they
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need to test it against the big that companies like with vertical button
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to basically try and predict and then maybe had by people even in the us like
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that the knack and um uh who is the head of the f. t. c. and
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was one of the first uh you know seminal paper already published quite some time ago
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to say that these big companies from unknown factor standpoint should be dismantled uh
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but in any case there is a lot of work ahead of us
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uh and i will close uh on these words and if you are interested
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but only if you are interested i realise every week and the paper
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on the u. a. act with that i've tried to the sick it's uh
