Today, the European Commission published its draft for a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI). The proposal lays out comprehensive new rules for AI systems deployed in the EU. Mozilla welcomes the initiative to rein in the potential harms caused by AI, but much remains to be clarified.
Reacting to the European Commission’s proposal, Raegan MacDonald, Mozilla’s Director of Global Public Policy, said:
“AI is a transformational technology that has the potential to create value and enable progress in so many ways, but we cannot lose sight of the real harms that can come if we fail to protect the rights and safety of people living in the EU. Mozilla is committed to ensuring that AI is trustworthy, that it helps people instead of harming them. The European Commission’s push to set ground rules is a step in the right direction and it is good to see that several of our recommendations to the Commission are reflected in the proposal – but there is more work to be done to ensure these principles can be meaningfully implemented, as some of the safeguards and red lines envisioned in the text leave a lot to be desired.
Systemic transparency is a critical enabler of accountability, which is crucial to advancing more trustworthy AI. We are therefore encouraged by the introduction of user-facing transparency obligations – for example for chatbots or so-called deepfakes – as well as a public register for high-risk AI systems in the European Commission’s proposal. But as always, details matter, and it will be important what information exactly this database will encompass. We look forward to contributing to this important debate.”