On Thursday, what aspires to be 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, 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 use of this type of technology.
“In a society in constant and rapid evolution, 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 the agendas of big companies without the involvement of civil society can lead to distrust towards AI, especially if the problems that exist are not solved and the people most affected are not involved in the development and application of the systems”, points out the manifesto of the promoters of the initiative, which will be presented the day after tomorrow.
In the letter 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 a wide social spectrum have already signed this manifesto and pledged to promote debate and critical awareness of the need to regulate the impacts of artificial intelligence on people and to collaborate with teachers, universities, research centers, governments and companies in the name of responsible and sustainable AI development and application”.
“Citizens cannot simply depend on what scientists, companies or governments decide about these technological innovations; we must organize ourselves to act as lobbies in front of democratic institutions and in all sectors of society, so that our rights and interests are taken into account when deciding how AI is applied”, justifies Manel Sanromà, one of the promoters of the initiative.
Sanromà also explains that until now there have been organizations of scientists and technologists, government agencies, institutions and companies that have spoken out about AI, but there has not been “any organization that has given citizens the opportunity to express their concerns, opinions and positions collectively and without the mediation of interested parties”.
And this is the gap that CIVICAi wants to cover. “As far as we know, it is the first organization of this type in the world, and it was born with the desire to constitute an International CIVICA and confederate with all those citizen organizations that are emerging in other parts of the world with this same vision of ours, that the citizens participate in key decisions about AI”, points out Sanromà.
It details that this transversal organization that is being 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 in Anyone who wants to can participate in these debates to contribute to creating this collective voice”. The idea is to then 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, Sanromà indicates.
