21st century Dystopia expansion: Climate demonstrations or political protests could now be freely targeted with AI-powered surveillance
In a matter of days governments across the EU will have the power to deploy AI-powered technologies that track citizens in public spaces, conduct real-time surveillance to monitor refugees in border zones and use facial recognition tools against people based on their suspected political affiliations or religious beliefs.
These are just some of the loopholes and national security exemptions forced through in the European Artificial Intelligence Act, the world’s first set of laws targeting the sector. The legislation is designed to mitigate the myriad bias and privacy fears surrounding the use of AI technologies and algorithms, with the EU saying the law will create “an AI ecosystem that benefits everyone.”
But several controversial parts of the regulation will take effect from 2 February 2025, thanks in part to secret lobbying by France and a host of European states. Internal documents obtained from the negotiations by Investigate Europe reveal member states successfully campaigned to dilute the measures, giving police and border authorities, among others, greater freedoms to covertly monitor citizens.
These are just some of the loopholes and national security exemptions forced through in the European Artificial Intelligence Act, the world’s first set of laws targeting the sector. The legislation is designed to mitigate the myriad bias and privacy fears surrounding the use of AI technologies and algorithms, with the EU saying the law will create “an AI ecosystem that benefits everyone.”
But several controversial parts of the regulation will take effect from 2 February 2025, thanks in part to secret lobbying by France and a host of European states. Internal documents obtained from the negotiations by Investigate Europe reveal member states successfully campaigned to dilute the measures, giving police and border authorities, among others, greater freedoms to covertly monitor citizens.
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Investigate Europe analysed more than 100 documents from behind-closed-doors meetings of ambassadors from the 27 member states, the so-called Coreper for the Council of the EU and spoke to multiple sources present at the negotiations. These meeting minutes and accounts from across the political spectrum detail how France strategically engineered amendments to the regulation.
The use of AI in public spaces is broadly prohibited under the act, but changes pushed for by the Macron administration and others mean that law enforcement and border officials will have the ability to bypass the ban. Climate demonstrations or political protests, for instance, could now be freely targeted with AI-powered surveillance if police have national security concerns.
The use of AI in public spaces is broadly prohibited under the act, but changes pushed for by the Macron administration and others mean that law enforcement and border officials will have the ability to bypass the ban. Climate demonstrations or political protests, for instance, could now be freely targeted with AI-powered surveillance if police have national security concerns.
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