Europe to ban the use of A.I. for mass surveillance and social credit scores as the EU plans to regulate and impose strict rules for artificial intelligence

There is no denying that big tech companies now control our lives. From online search to the products you buy online, artificial intelligence has permeated into our everyday lives. Unlike the United States where our leaders don’t have the courage to stand up to the Big Tech, the European Union wants to avoid the worst of what artificial intelligence can do, and now planning to impose strict rules for artificial intelligence. And non-compliant tech companies could face a fine of up to €20 million or 4 percent of turnover.

According to draft rules in an 81-page document, which was first reported by Politico, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), said it would ban certain uses of “high-risk” artificial intelligence systems altogether, and limit others from entering the bloc if they don’t meet its standards. The EU said that companies that don’t comply could be fined up to €20 million or 4 percent of their turnover. The final regulation is set to be finalized on April 21.

The new rule will also outlaw the use of A.I. for mass surveillance and social credit scores. According to Politico, “social scoring systems, such as those launched in China that track the trustworthiness of people and businesses, are classified as “contravening the Union values” and are going to be banned.”

As we reported back in April 2018, the Chinese government is already using artificial intelligence technology to monitor, shame, and rate citizens. SenseTime, an artificial intelligence startup is using its AI technology to help the Chinese government to score people on social behavior, give each citizen a social credit score, which is not the same as the traditional credit score based on finances. China’s use of AI is not limited to surveillance cameras, the Chinese government is also using AI with facial recognition technology and smart glasses to track average citizens, monitor, rate, and sometimes shame them.

An annotated image from IBM’s Diversity in Faces dataset for facial recognition systems.

In addition, the proposed rule also wants to prohibit AI systems that cause harm to people by manipulating their behavior, opinions, or decisions; exploit or target people’s vulnerabilities, and for mass surveillance.

The European Commission plans to announce the proposals as early as next week and they’re subject to change until such a time. They will need to be voted on before they’re introduced.

Meanwhile, Eric Schmidt, Google’s former chief and chair of the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), said in an interview with POLITICO in last month, that Europe’s strategy won’t be successful, as it is “simply not big enough” to compete.

Schmidt added:

“Europe will need to partner with the United States on these key platforms,” referring to American big tech companies which dominate the development of AI technologies.