The European Union and the technology shift

Chapter 4 of The European Union and The Technology Shift is titled: AI in the EU: Ethical Guidelines as a Governance Tool. This chapter examines ethical guidelines as a tool for the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). Analysing the European development towards a trustworthy AI, with a focus on the High-Level Expert Group on AI appointed by the European Commission, the chapter highlights the interaction between guidelines and law in light of technological advancements. It discusses why contemporary AI has led to that the ethical framing has received such a prominent place. Applied AI, here argued, must be understood from its interaction with social structures and human expressions, leading to a need of a multidisciplinary understanding for its governance. Via an analysis of AIs definitional struggles, as well as the related notions of risk and transparency, the chapter concludes by stressing the necessity to move from principles to process in the governance of AI in the EU.