China’s approach to AI was to put its development under the control of the government. By contrast, the U.S. has allowed AI development to be dominated by private technology companies. Amid this global split, Germany, France and Japan have joined forces to fund research into “human-centered” AI that aims to respect privacy and transparency.
Warning that AI has the potential to “violate individual privacy and right to informational self-determination,” Europe is taking the lead by announcing a joint call for research proposals, backed by an initial 7.4 million euros. The focus will be on the “democratization” of AI, “integrity of data for fairness” and “AI ethics to avoid gender/age segmentation”. Results would be released on an open-access basis.
The “European way” was an attempt to find a “balance” between “government, industry and individual,” said Holger Hoos, one of the founders of the Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe. This is an approach also supported by Japan, with Canada potentially joining.
The AI World Society (AIWS) welcomes this important effort by the E.U in setting standards for the rest of the world when it comes to “ethical” AI. AIWS was founded to serve a similar cause, that is, promoting ethical norms and practices in the development and use of AI. We recognized the importance of ethics guidelines at the policy level and published a comprehensive report about AI Ethics.
