EU Addresses AI Ethical, Legal, and Transparency Challenges

The European Commission, together with European Research Area countries and stakeholders, has put forward a set of guidelines to support the European research community in their responsible use of generative AI. The guidelines, based on principles of research integrity and trustworthy AI, aim to address key opportunities and challenges as the technology rapidly spreads across all domains, including science.

In a related development, the Council of the EU adopted new rules on the transparency and targeting of political advertising to counter information manipulation and foreign interference in elections. The regulation aims to make it easy for citizens to recognize political advertisements, understand who is behind them, and know if they have received targeted advertisements, “including whether an artificial intelligence system has been used to target or deliver the political advertisement and any additional analytical techniques.”

However, concerns about the use of AI in decision-making processes persist. The European Ombudsman has written to the European Commission, asking how it decides on and uses AI in its decision-making, particularly in analyzing public feedback, discovering potential infringements of EU competition rules, and handling complaints. The Ombudsman stressed that public administrations must ensure AI only assists in human decision-making and does not replace it.

Moreover, the Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that while the mandatory insertion of two fingerprints in identity cards is compatible with fundamental rights to respect for private life and protection of personal data, the regulation laying down this measure was adopted on an incorrect legal basis. The Court has declared the regulation invalid but maintained its effects until the end of 2026 to allow the EU legislature to adopt a new regulation on the correct legal basis.