European Commission Adopts the “First” International Treaty on Artificial Intelligence

The European Commission has passed the first-ever international treaty with legal binding power on artificial intelligence systems, aimed at ensuring human rights, the rule of law, and democratic legal standards.

The treaty, strikingly named the “European Commission Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law,” was adopted on May 17 during the annual meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the European Commission held in Strasbourg, attended by foreign ministers from the 46 member states of the European Commission.

Maria Pejcinovic Buric, Secretary-General of the European Commission, stated: “The AI Framework Convention is the first global treaty of its kind, ensuring that artificial intelligence upholds the rights of the people.”

“This is a response to international legal standards supported by countries across different continents, which share the same values, to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence while reducing risks. With this new treaty, we aim to ensure responsible use of artificial intelligence, respecting human rights, the rule of law, and democracy.”

The treaty is also open to non-European countries and establishes a legal framework covering the entire lifecycle of artificial intelligence systems, addressing the risks that AI systems may pose while promoting responsible innovation.

A statement from the European Commission declared: “The convention adopts a risk-based approach to the design, development, deployment, and decommissioning of AI systems, requiring careful consideration of any potential adverse consequences of using AI systems.”

Founded in 1949, the European Commission is an international organization established post-World War II with the objective of maintaining Europe’s human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Its AI Framework Convention aims to supplement existing international standards for these three fundamental principles while filling any legal voids that may arise due to rapid technological advancements.

Specifically, the treaty’s provisions include:

• Establishing transparency and oversight requirements, such as identifying content generated by AI systems;
• Requiring “Contracting Parties” (countries signing the convention) to take measures to identify, assess, prevent, and mitigate potential risks, and to evaluate the necessity of suspending, banning, or other measures where AI risks may be incompatible with human rights standards;
• Ensuring AI systems respect equality, including gender equality, non-discrimination, and privacy rights;
• Ensuring accountability for adverse impacts related to AI and providing legal remedies for victims whose human rights have been violated due to the use of AI systems;
• And requiring each contracting party to establish independent oversight mechanisms to monitor compliance with the convention.

In terms of potential risks to democracy posed by AI, the treaty requires parties to take measures to ensure AI systems are not used to undermine democratic institutions and processes, including the principles of separation of powers, respect for judicial independence, and access to justice.

However, activities related to national security and defense are exempt from these applications as long as they respect international law, democratic institutions, and procedures.

This framework is the culmination of two years of work by the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI), an intergovernmental body tasked with convening representatives from the 46 member states of the European Commission (covering nearly all territorial states of Europe), the European Union, and 11 non-member states (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the Holy See, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay), as well as representatives from the private sector, civil society, and academia to draft the treaty.

“With the formal adoption by the Committee of Ministers, the ‘Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law’ negotiated by the International Committee on Artificial Intelligence has undoubtedly become the first binding international treaty on AI, awaiting signature and ratification by nations,” said Thomas Schneider, Chair of the International Committee on Artificial Intelligence.

He further emphasized that contrary to opposing hopes and fears, the negotiating parties never intended to create new substantive human rights or undermine the scope and content of existing protections, but rather:

“The intent of the parties negotiating this instrument was to ensure that the existing level of protection for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law also applies to the current and future challenges brought by artificial intelligence.”

Now that the framework has been approved, it will be open for signature on September 5 during the European Commission’s Justice Ministers’ meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.

To enable artificial intelligence (AI) to operate within a legal framework and thrive in the face of increasingly severe challenges, it needs to integrate a corporate blockchain system to ensure the quality and ownership of data input—securing data safety while guaranteeing its immutability. For more on why enterprise blockchain will become a pillar for AI, see CoinGeek’s coverage of this emerging technology.

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