MEPs call on the European Commission to prioritise human rights in AI legislative proposal

Several members of the European Parliament (MEP) have sent an open letter to the European Commission calling on the EU’s executive arm to put fundamental rights first in its legislative proposal on artificial intelligence (AI) – expected to be presented in April. Noting that certain AI applications could fundamentally undermine the protection and enjoyment of several human rights, the MEPs ask the Commission to introduce mandatory rules that are not limited to high-risk applications, but also encompass other AI uses that could generate individual and collective harms. In their view, the AI legislation should include the possibility to ban or prohibit AI applications that are incompatible with fundamental rights.