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Tomorrow, the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT) will be officially inaugurated by the Commission's Joint Research Centre in Seville, Spain. The inauguration will be marked with a launch event that will be broadcast here.

The event brings together representatives from EU institutions, academia, civil society and industry to discuss the main challenges and the importance at a societal level of having oversight of how algorithmic systems are used. Following a video message by Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, the audience will dive into the current and planned work of ECAT, including a preliminary showcase of its potential through live demos.

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The EEA Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) have issued a report on the outcome of the work of the task force that was set up to look into the 101 complaints filed by NGO NOYB in the aftermath of the CJEU Schrems II judgment. The report sets out the common positions of the members of the task force and contains information on the outcomes of the first cases concerned. Among others, several DPAs have ordered website operators to comply with the requirements of Chapter V of the GDPR, and if necessary, to stop the transfer at stake.

The task force was set up in September 2020 to promote a consistent approach in the handling of 101 identical complaints lodged by NOYB with EEA DPAs regarding the tools “Google Analytics” and “Facebook Business Tools” on websites, and the subsequent processing of personal data transfers to the U.S.

The positions of the DPAs expressed in this report do not represent the position of the EDPB. In addition, the positions taken do not prejudge the analysis that will have to be made by the DPAs of each complaint and each tool concerned.

Infographic - The EU Chips Act

Illustration showing a microchipSee full infographic The Council and the European Parliament have reached today a provisional political agreement on the regulation to strengthen Europe's semiconductor ecosystem, better known as the 'Chips Act'. The deal is expected to create the conditions for the development of an industrial base that can double the EU’s global market share in semiconductors from 10% to at least 20% by 2030.

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A dozen European Union (EU) politicians have signed a letter calling for the “safe” development of artificial intelligence (AI) as Google’s CEO cautioned against releasing powerful AI tech before society has had a chance to adapt.

An April 16 open letter shared on Twitter by EU Parliament member, Dragoș Tudorache, called for a collaborative effort and a universal set of rules around the development of AI.

Tudorache, along with 11 other EU politicians named in the letter, asked the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and United States President Joe Biden to convene a summit on AI and to agree on a set of governing principles for the development, control and deployment of the tech.

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Following public consultation, the EDPB has adopted a final version of the Guidelines on data subject rights - Right of access. The Guidelines analyse the various aspects of the right of access and provide more precise guidance on how the right of access has to be implemented in different situations. Among others, the Guidelines provide clarifications on the scope of the right of access, the information the controller has to provide to the data subject, the format of the access request, the main modalities for providing access, and the notion of manifestly unfounded or excessive requests. Following public consultation, the guidelines were updated and further clarifications were added on different aspects that were brought up in the consultation. Furthermore, some minor editorial adjustments were made to ensure consistency of different concepts.

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Today, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) presents its 2022 Annual Activity Report. The report provides a summary of the work carried out by the EDPB in the last year, and includes the results of a guidance review carried out among stakeholders and, for the first time, a thematic digest with a selection of examples of final One-Stop-Shop decisions.

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Members of the European Parliament closed several critical parts of the AI regulation at a political meeting on Thursday (13 April), but the prohibited uses of AI could potentially divide the house.

The AI Act is a landmark legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence based on its capacity to cause harm, and while MEPs are approaching a political deal on the file with a key committee vote scheduled for 26 April, the plenary adoption will be challenging.

The most politically sensitive part discussed during the political meeting with all the groups on Thursday was prohibited practices, applications deemed to pose an unacceptable risk. High-risk categorisation, enforcement and governance are largely settled.

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The meeting was held in "a constructive, unscripted atmosphere" and the summary document (pdf) covers the following (all emphasis in quotes added):

Joint response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

"...the EU delegation expressed appreciation for the close cooperation with US partners through the Solidarity Platform, including on humanitarian assistance and flows projections"

Counter-terrorism and information-sharing

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The aim of the plan is to allow reciprocal police and border guard access to data for EU member states and non-member states alike. “At present, there is no EU mechanism in place to systematically make critical and actionable partner-country sourced information available directly and in real time to frontline border guards or police officers in the Member States,” says a document published by the Commission (pdf).

Thus, despite a wealth of existing information-sharing schemes – many of which, as the submission points out, have yet to be put into use – the Commission is seeking yet another system, which it says will “ensure increased security in the EU as frontline officers will have direct access to security-related information from partner countries, enabling them to take instant action in case someone representing a threat is located.”

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The emergence of generative artificial intelligence has ignited a deep philosophical exploration into the nature of consciousness, creativity, and authorship. As we bear witness to new advances in the field, it’s increasingly apparent that these synthetic agents possess a remarkable capacity to create, iterate, and challenge our traditional notions of intelligence. But what does it really mean for an AI system to be “generative,” with newfound blurred boundaries of creative expression between humans and machines?

For those who feel as if “generative artificial intelligence” — a type of AI that can cook up new and original data or content similar to what it's been trained on — cascaded into existence like an overnight sensation, while indeed the new capabilities have surprised many, the underlying technology has been in the making for some time.

But understanding true capacity can be as indistinct as some of the generative content these models produce. To that end, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) convened in discussions around the capabilities and limitations of generative AI, as well as its potential impacts on society and industries, with regard to language, images, and code.

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Brussels, 13 April - The EDPB adopted a dispute resolution decision on the basis of Art. 65 GDPR concerning a draft decision of the IE DPA on the legality of data transfers to the United States by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Meta IE) for its Facebook service. The binding decision addresses important legal questions arising from the draft decision of the Irish DPA as lead supervisory authority (LSA) regarding Meta IE. The EDPB binding decision plays a key role in ensuring the correct and consistent application of the GDPR by the national Data Protection Authorities.

As no consensus was reached on the objections lodged by several DPAs, the EDPB was called upon to settle the dispute between the DPAs within two months.

More specifically, in its binding decision, the EDPB settles the dispute on whether an administrative fine and/or an additional order to bring processing into compliance must be included in the Irish DPA’s final decision.

The LSA shall adopt its final decision, addressed to the controller, on the basis of the EDPB binding decision taking into account the EDPB's legal assessment, at the latest one month after the EDPB has notified its decision. The EDPB will publish its decision on its website after the LSA has notified its national decision to the controller.

The EDPB members discussed the recent enforcement action undertaken by the Italian data protection authority against Open AI about the Chat GPT service.

The EDPB decided to launch a dedicated task force to foster cooperation and to exchange information on possible enforcement actions conducted by data protection authorities.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has altered the area of mental health in several ways, most notably in the development of tailored treatment regimens for people with mental health disorders. One of the more recent areas of interest for AI is psychology, specifically mental health. As AI expands its reach, it is becoming increasingly important for psychologists, therapists and counsellors to comprehend the technology’s current capabilities and future promise to revolutionise mental healthcare.

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