The Council of Europe has adopted the first ever international legally binding treaty aimed at ensuring respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic legal standards in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, Council of Europe reports.
The treaty, which is also open to non-European countries, establishes a legal framework that covers the entire life cycle of AI systems and takes into account the risks they may pose, and encourages responsible innovation. The convention adopts a risk-based approach to the design, development, use and decommissioning of artificial intelligence systems, which requires careful consideration of any potential adverse effects of artificial intelligence systems.
The Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law was adopted in Strasbourg during the annual meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which is attended by the foreign ministers of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe.
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović said:
“The Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence is a first-of-its-kind, global treaty that will ensure that Artificial Intelligence upholds people’s rights. It is a response to the need for an international legal standard supported by states in different continents which share the same values to harness the benefits of Artificial intelligence, while mitigating the risks. With this new treaty, we aim to ensure a responsible use of AI that respects human rights, the rule of law and democracy.”
Artificial intelligence in public and private sector
The Convention is the result of two years of work by an intergovernmental body, the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI), which brought together 46 Council of Europe member states, the European Union and 11 non-member states (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Holy See, Peru, the United States, Uruguay) to draft the treaty, as well as representatives from the private sector, civil society and academia who participated as observers.
The treaty covers the use of artificial intelligence systems in the public sector – including companies acting on its behalf – and in the private sector. The convention offers parties two ways to comply with its principles and obligations when regulating the private sector: parties may choose to explicitly follow the relevant provisions of the convention or, alternatively, take other measures to comply with the provisions of the treaty while fully respecting their international obligations in the areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This approach is necessary because of the differences in legal systems around the world.
Transparency and oversight standards
The Convention establishes requirements for transparency and oversight tailored to specific contexts and risks, including the identification of content generated by artificial intelligence systems. Parties will have to take measures to identify, assess, prevent and mitigate possible risks and assess the need for a moratorium, ban or other appropriate measures on the use of artificial intelligence systems where their risks may be incompatible with human rights standards.
They will also have to ensure accountability and responsibility for negative impacts, and that AI systems respect equality, including gender equality, prohibition of discrimination and the right to privacy. In addition, treaty parties will have to ensure that remedies are available to victims of human rights violations related to the use of AI systems and procedural safeguards, including notification to any persons interacting with AI systems that they are interacting with such systems.
As regards risks to democracy, the treaty requires parties to take measures to ensure that AI systems will not undermine democratic institutions and processes, including the principle of separation of powers, respect for the independence of the judiciary and access to justice.
National security protection
Parties to the convention are not obliged to apply the provisions of the treaty to activities related to the defence of national security interests, but will be required to ensure respect for international law and democratic institutions and processes. The convention will not apply to matters of national defence, nor to research and development activities, except where the testing of artificial intelligence systems may violate human rights, democracy or the rule of law.
For effective implementation, the convention provides for a follow-up mechanism in the form of a Conference of the Parties.
Finally, the convention requires each party to establish an independent oversight mechanism to monitor compliance with the convention, as well as to raise awareness, stimulate informed public debate and conduct multi-stakeholder consultations on the use of AI technologies. The framework convention will be open for signature in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 5 September on the occasion of the Justice Ministers’ Conference.
