Malta launches public consultation on ethical AI framework

Malta launched a public consultation on an Ethical AI Framework, consisting of a set of ethical principles for artificial intelligence (AI) and an overview of requirements for trustworthy AI. Developed by the Malta.AI Taskforce, the framework is intended to ‘establish a set of guiding principles and trustworthy AI governance and control practices’. The document outlines four ethical principles aimed at establishing trustworthy AI: (a) human autonomy for humans interacting with AI systems; (b) preventing any harm that AI systems could cause to humans, the environment, or other living beings; (c) fairness in the development, use and operation of AI systems; (d) explicability, so that end-users can understand and challenge the operation of AI systems. These principles, the document notes, need to be translated into requirements for AI systems, such as human agency, explainability and transparency, fairness, accountability, and privacy and data governance.