A policy document urges the EU to monitor AI and lessen its reliance on foreign technology

October 1st

Ursula von der Leyen. (European Parliament/Flickr)

A policy document from the European Commission's incoming presidential staff warns that the EU is too reliant on outside technology.

According to Bloomberg, the document claims that if progress in indigenous technology isn't made, "Europe’s position and influence in global markets will be eroded, affecting European leadership and jeopardizing our technological sovereignty."

The described document appears to be part of a larger briefing book published in mid-September by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology. The briefing book also appears to have been written in part by staff working for incoming European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

In the briefing book, policy makers argue for the creation of company data passports that outline "data sets and algorithms used in the training and decision process," of AI systems, according to Politico.

The European Union and AI

European policy makers recommend creating a $110 billion sovereign wealth fund to create "European champions" in tech

August 23rd

The "European Future Fund" reflects the bloc's desire to ease its reliance on Chinese and US technology.

Sections

Surveillance and Privacy

August 16th

AI-enabled technologies produce and rely on vast troves of personal data, most of which is unregulated and vulnerable to theft and misuse.

These technologies include:

Facial recognition: It helps users unlock their smartphones. It also helps police in China track criminal suspects and monitor members of the Uyghur ethnic minority.
Personalization: It helps consumers make necessary purchases and discover entertainment, but also encourages developers to collect personal data from increasingly far-flung sources.
Voice assistants: They help users answer questions, create calendar events, and set alarms. They also record audio accidentally, and until recently relied on human reviewers to listen to private audio to improve their responses.
Smart home products: Similar to voice assistants, these products allow users to remotely operate appliances, set temperatures and access security footage. They also collect a vast amount of private information about the home life of their users.

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