On Monday, January 22, the University of Florence hosted a conference titled "Artificial Intelligence, between Ethics and Law." Organized by the Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Florence, the conference brought together leading experts to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for ethics and legal frameworks.
The conference commenced with an opening session, moderated by the Constitutional Law Professor Erik Longo, featuring esteemed speakers, including the Vice President of the Italian Privacy Supervisor, Ginevra Cerrina Feroni, Professor Andrea Simoncini, and Professor Fosca Giannotti from the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. The second session, moderated by Federica Camisa from the University of Florence, included scholars Andrea Gatti from the University of Teramo, Giovanni De Gregorio from the Catholic University of Lisbon, Simona Demkova from Leiden University, and Giuseppe Mobilio from the University of Florence.
In her intervention, Simona shed the light on the challenges posed by automation in composite decision-making processes involving various European jurisdictions, drawing from her recently published book titled "Automated Decision-Making and Effective Remedies." She discussed the context of semi-automated decision-making, emerging from extensive information sharing within the European Union's area of freedom, security, and justice. Namely, the presentation emphasised three key challenges in ensuring effective recourse against this decision-making process: a) the problem of measuring the effects of automation; b) the challenge of transparency beyond mere opacity, and c) the existing jurisdictional constraints in the underlying cooperation.
The conference aimed to delve deeper into the critical theme of artificial intelligence and its increasing influence on automated decision-making processes across various sectors, including public administration and businesses. The event was organized within the framework of the ARC 2 project (Awareness Raising Campaign for SMEs 2), which seeks to enhance the understanding of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) regarding their obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the respective Italian and Croatian legal frameworks for personal data protection.
The ARC 2 project involves collaborative efforts from various organizations, including the Privacy Supervisor for Personal Data Protection (GPDP - Italy), the Data Protection Authority of Croatia (AZOP - coordinator), the University of Zagreb (Department of Computer Science), and the University of Brussels (VRIJE).
The "Artificial Intelligence, between Ethics and Law" conference marked an important step in the ongoing dialogue surrounding the ethical and legal implications of AI. As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, the discussion and collaboration among experts from diverse fields will remain crucial in shaping the ethical and legal frameworks that govern AI's integration into our society.
