CEE region wants to speak with one voice on AI regulation

The Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic brought for the second time together representatives of 14 employer’s associations and artificial intelligence platforms from nine Central and Eastern European countries to discuss a joint position on the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence. Participants, meeting in the so-called AI Challengers format, agreed that they should speak with one voice in order to be heard, and they thus plan to submit the position jointly before the end of the consultation period on June 14. Due to the coronavirus pandemics, the meeting took place online.

The second meeting of AI Challengers built upon the successful event in Prague in February 2020, which resulted in a joint statement giving five recommendations to the European Commission. Since then, the agenda of artificial intelligence has become even more important and with the deadline of the public consultation quickly approaching, the AI Challengers met again to find ground for their common position. The regulation of AI will inevitably shape the competitiveness of companies in the EU and might significantly contribute to economic growth if tackled in the right way.

Representatives of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Croatia focused in the discussion on topics ranging from the appropriate approach to the high-risk AI, through the definition of AI itself, to the issues of liability and enforcement. In line with the previously issued joint statement, they emphasised the need for avoiding the creation of new conflicting and complex legislation and rather focusing on the existing foundations which should be sufficient to allow AI application to thrive.

“Europe is well-positioned to play a leading role in AI research and application, yet we must bring our region even closer to the decision-making process to assure, that the new regulation will boost AI companies in Europe, not slow them down,” highlighted Milena Jabůrková, Vice-President of the Confederation of the Industry of the Czech Republic, in her opening remarks.

After the exchange of ideas, AI Challengers will now finalize the position and project their priorities to the consultation. After the submission, the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic plans to organise an online conference on June 16 to present the position to policymakers in Brussels.