Next Thursday, what is considered the first citizen lobby in defense of human interests against the deployment of artificial intelligence will be presented in Barcelona. It is called CIVICAi (civic ai, that is, civic artificial intelligence) and seeks to organize ordinary citizens to position themselves and make their voices heard collectively in the face of the changes implied by the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI). in more and more fields.
“In a constantly and rapidly evolving society, artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role in the lives of citizens. This raises new opportunities but also raises concerns about its social, economic and environmental impact. A situation that is marked by Big Tech agendas without the involvement of civil society can lead to mistrust of AI, especially if known problems are not resolved and the people most affected are not involved in the development and application of AI systems” , indicates the manifesto that they have prepared by the promoters of the initiative and that will be presented publicly on Thursday.
In this declaration, they also justify the need to build “a transversal, open, democratic organization with no other interest than the collective good”, and with transparent objectives and participatory management.
More than two hundred people from different fields and a wide social spectrum have already signed the manifesto, committing to promote debate and critical awareness of the need to regulate the impacts of artificial intelligence on people and to collaborate with teachers, universities and research centers, with governments and companies for the “responsible and sustainable development and application” of AI.
“Citizens cannot simply depend on what scientists, companies or governments decide on these technological innovations; we must organize ourselves to act as lobbies before democratic institutions and in all sectors of society and that our rights and interests be taken into account when deciding how artificial intelligence is applied”, justifies Manel Sanromà, one of the promoters of the initiative.
And he explains that, until now, there have been organizations of scientists and technologists, government agencies and institutions and companies that have ruled on what should be the criteria that govern the development and implementation of artificial intelligence, but there has not been “any organization that gives citizens the opportunity to express their concerns, opinions and positions collectively and without the intermediation of interested parties”.
And that is the gap that CIVICAi wants to fill. “As far as we know, it is the first organization of its kind in the world, and it was born with the desire to establish an International CIVICAi confedering with all those citizen organizations that will undoubtedly emerge in other parts of the world with this same vision of ours that citizens participate in key decisions about the social impact of AI”, says Sanromà.
He details that this transversal organization that is now promoted from Catalonia will be organized by divisions or sections to analyze the impact of artificial intelligence in specific areas such as education, health, finance… “and whoever wants to can participate in these debates to contribute to creating that collective voice” that defends the rights and criteria of people when implementing technological solutions.
The idea is to later transfer these opinions to politicians and experts both by way of promoting legislative initiatives and adhering to projects or regulations that are proposed by international organizations such as the OECD or the European Union, indicates Sanromà.
