Slovenia and the EU on the way to the safe use of artificial intelligence

16/9/2021

As part of its presidency of the Council of the EU, the Ministry of Public Administration, together with the European Commission, organized a high-level conference on artificial intelligence, where we could listen to how we will live and tackle artificial intelligence in the future.

Participants discussed the European Artificial Intelligence Package adopted in April this year. The package contains proposals and guidelines on how to develop, introduce and regulate the use of ethical and trustworthy artificial intelligence in Europe in a human-centered way, ensuring that it is built and used for the benefit of the individual and society striving for democratic values, the rule of law and human rights.

In his opening address to the conference, Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik emphasized that the field of artificial intelligence is a priority of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. “We want to stimulate discussions on how to properly regulate this area and support the future development of artificial intelligence in a sustainable way. We are dealing with a relatively unknown field and only broad participation in an open debate can lead us forward in understanding the possible effects of different decisions for the future. That is why today’s conference will allow policy-makers and leaders in research, business and civil society to discuss outstanding issues. Slovenia has more than 40 years of research history in the field of artificial intelligence, so the location is definitely suitable for such a discussion, “the Minister emphasized.

The conference focused on various aspects. On the first day, the participants focused on its legal regulation, promoting standardization, ensuring effective supervision and regulating the responsibility of stakeholders. The EU is the first in the world to regulate these issues. On the second day, the participants, including the head of DIH UM, doc. dr. Muhamed Turkanović, discussed the appropriate environment for promoting the financing of innovations in the field of artificial intelligence, the promotion of green artificial intelligence and education on new technologies.