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AI and I: A three-step approach to Artificial Intelligence: Episode 2 - Debating AI. Impact and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence on Human Rights

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EDPS trainees

Welcome to the second episode of this podcast series focused on a three-step approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI), organised by the trainees of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and European Data Protection Board (EDPB). The second episode of this podcast, “Debating AI. Impact and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence on Human Rights”, begins with a discussion on how AI affects human rights.

Present in a wide variety of technologies, from spam filters to weather forecasts, navigation systems and facial recognition cameras, AI is part of our everyday life. Although there is no consensus on what AI is, AI systems are generally used to find patterns by analysing huge amounts of data in order to make predictions or decisions.

AI has proven to have a positive impact on human development. However, with the rise of big data and the possibility to make sense of massive datasets, human behaviour is being monitored even more closely and important decisions are being taken based on correlations that sometimes even developers of AI systems themselves do not understand. This not only impacts the rights to privacy and to the protection of personal data, but also the rights to freedom of expression, non-discrimination, freedom of movement etc.

Our two guest speakers, Karolina Iwánska and Brando Benifei will discuss the numerous aforementioned challenges. More specifically, Ms Iwánska provides us with her expertise on research and policy analysis at the intersection of security, counterterrorism, and technology as Digital Civic Space Advisor at the European Center for Not-for-profit Law. In turn, Mr. Benifei will contribute to the discussion with his experience as Rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act in the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection and as a previous member of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age.

This podcast is hosted by Alba Montes Reguero, Gloria Cuesta Noguerales and Elora Fernandes and was prepared with the assistance of fellow trainees from the EDPS and the EDPB, Carolin Kivioja, Christian Ivanov, Gianluca Ciarfaglia, Maria Vardala and Matteo Leffi.

This Podcast was recorded on 11 July 2022.

Speakers

Karolina Iwánska

Digital Civic Space Advisor at the European Center for Not-for-profit Law (ECNL)

Karolina Iwánska is a Digital Civic Space Advisor at the European Center for Not-for-profit Law (ECNL). She is responsible for supporting ECNL in furthering its digital rights portfolio, broadening up partnerships with diverse stakeholders in the digital rights field and delivering ECNL policy and advocacy initiatives in this area. She also supports ECNL’s training and education activities related to digital rights.

Prior to joining ECNL, Ms. Iwánska worked as a lawyer and policy analyst at the Warsaw-based digital rights organisation Panoptykon Foundation. She was primarily responsible for the organisation’s advocacy related to the regulation of AI and algorithms of online platforms, as well as strategic GDPR litigation in the area of online tracking and profiling. In 2019/2020, Ms Iwánska was a Mozilla EU Tech Policy Fellow researching privacy-friendly online advertising. She holds a master’s degree in Law from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Brando Benifei

Member of the European Parliament

Brando Benifei is currently in his second term as an Italian Member of the European Parliament, from La Spezia. He is also the Head of Delegation of Partito Democratico in the European Parliament. Mr. Benifei is Rapporteur for the Artificial Intelligence Act in the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and has been a member of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age.