The purpose of the Convention is to ensure that during their lifecycle, AI systems fully comply with human rights, respect the functioning of democracy and observe the rule of law, regardless of whether these activities are undertaken by public or private actors. The design, development and application of AI systems used for purposes related to national defence are expressly excluded from the scope of this Convention. The negotiators seem to agree that such a Convention must be seen first and foremost as a broad framework which might be supplemented by further obligations in more specific fields.

On December 8th, 2022, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a report on algorithm biases, in particular when used for predictive policing and offensive speech detection.

On December 15th, 2022, the European Union adopted an interinstitutional declaration on digital rights and principles that will guide the EU’s ambition to be “digitally sovereign in an open and interconnected world, and to pursue digital policies that empower people and businesses to seize a human centred, sustainable and more prosperous digital future”.

On December 6th, 2022, EU Member States voted on a “general approach” to the upcoming Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). On the same day, 192 civil society organisations and individuals published an open letter calling on the EU to modify a number of aspects of the AI Act to protect migrants from the risks that AI systems may pose to their fundamental rights.

On November 8th, 2022, the Information Commissioner’s Office (British DPA) published a document entitled ‘How to use AI and personal data appropriately and lawfully’, which is a guide to how data controllers should use AI systems in accordance with the law and in particular with people’s fundamental rights. This publication also contains a ‘frequently asked questions’ section which addresses certain specific issues that data controllers may have to deal with. 

The Italian ‘Garante per la protezione dei dati personali’ (Italian data protection authority) published a press release on November 14th, 2022, in which it announced that it had opened two separate investigations into the use of ‘smart video systems’ by two Italian municipalities.

The ‘Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés’ (CNIL – the French DPA) released its final decision on October 20th, 2022, sanctioning Clearview AI for its unlawful activity, which consists of collecting images of millions of individuals from the open web without any legal basis under the GDPR for doing so. 

On October 13th, 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) published an Opinion entitled “Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations on behalf of the European Union for a Council of Europe convention on artificial intelligence, human rights, democracy and the rule of law”. This independent supervisory authority welcomes the initiative taken by the European Commission to authorise negotiations on behalf of the EU regarding the future Council of Europe’s (CoE) Convention on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In October 2022, the White House released its white paper on AI. The ‘Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. Making Automated Systems Work for the American People’ intends “to guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect the American public in the age of artificial intelligence”. The framework was published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is responsible for providing the President and his Executive Office with advice on numerous topics, including technology and national security.  

An algorithmic tool designed to “predict migration flows” and “detect risks of tensions related to migration” is being developed by the EU as part of its security program. Against this background, a group of civil society organisations and individuals published a joint letter highlighting the risks posed by this technology in terms of criminalising migration and undermining human rights. 

On September 24th, 2022, the French NGO ‘La Quadrature du Net’ challenged the use of technology-driven tools by French police forces before the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL – French DPA). By means of three separate complaints, the NGO wants to raise awareness about what it calls the ‘technopolice’, which amounts to the police using methods that may pose risks to privacy. These complaints follow a petition published by LQDN which collected 15 248 signatures.

An Argentinian Court has declared the use of the ‘Facial Recognition for Fugitives System’ (Sistema de Reconocimiento Facial de Prófugos), deployed in Buenos Aires in 2019, unconstitutional. In April 2022, in response to the legal challenge presented by Observatorio de Derecho Informático Argentino (ODIA), and several other human rights organisations, the judge suspended use of the system.