The idea that an innovative and positive future will emerge from artificial intelligence is misguided. It is time for us to stand up for the primacy of democracy over technology and business models.
The European Union’s AI regulation demonstrates that it is possible to democratically contain the power of technology and its business models.
Technology itself does not invent the language it needs to describe its inventions. And it does not command the human imagination of the non-existent, of which art reminds us every day, and which is the basis for human and societal progress towards freedom and justice.
Bios
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Photo: Tobias FrietzschePaul Nemitz
DE
Paul Nemitz is the Principal Adviser on Digital Transition in the Directorate General on Justice and Consumer Policies in the European Commission. His responsibilities cover the triangel between Democracy, the Rule of Law and Technology. He was the lead Director for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Whistleblower Protection Directive. Nemitz is a visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Brugges where he teaches AI Law and Data Protection Law. His latest books are Critical Reflections on Consitutional Democracy in the Eurpean Union and its Member States (2019, with S. Garben and I. Govaere), Prinzip Mensch – Macht, Freiheit und Demokratie im Zeitalter der Künstlichen Intelligenz (2020, with Matthias Pfeffer) and The Human Imperative – Power, Freedom and Democracy in the age of Artificial Intelligence (2023, with Matthias Pfeffer). Nemitz lives between Brussels, Rome and Berlin.
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Photo: Aena SchmickFrederike Kaltheuner
DE
Frederike Kaltheuner is an independent expert on emerging technology, policy, and rights. She also serves as the Europe and global governance Lead at the AI Now Institute. With a decade of experience, she has held leadership roles including Technology and Rights Director at Human Rights Watch and Special Adviser to the European Commission. Frederike regularly provides expert evidence to parliaments and comments on technology in international media. She holds an MSc from Oxford and edited Fake AI, a book on AI pseudoscience and hype.
Credits
This project has been developed and is presented in the context of the STARTS in the City project. STARTS in the City has received funding from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No. LC-01984766.
