GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Concerns are often raised that AI technologies may imply major societal disruptions such as massive job displacements due to the increasing use of AI-drive automation and robotics, while research show that AI can also help filling gaps in workforce.

The common principle across all of these EU initiatives are seven key requirements for trustworthy AI, as proposed by the HLEG-AI and adopted by the European Commission, as well as the importance of protecting the fundamental rights of individuals. Against this backdrop, before being faced with a ‘fait-accompli’ in terms of potentially undesirable influence of AI on the European society and economy and to make sure that all the beneficial potential of AI deployment is fully realised, we should anticipate and prepare for possible and high impact scenarios.

The proposal should cover all the following aspects:

• Decisive contributions to develop a sound European capacity building on the future and long term human and societal implications of AI, building, as appropriate, on previous work of the HLEG-AI, ADRA, and current development of the AI Act or other relevant European and national AI initiatives.
• A solid scientific approach, providing an in-depth analysis of successful existing deployment of AI and the impact they have on European economy and society. Such analysis should also significantly contribute to awareness raising of such deployments, providing a reality check of capabilities/benefits, but also limitations of current AI solutions, and how the latter are currently addressed.
• Scenario based analysis of future and long term potential benefits to citizens and societies, as well as an analysis of related challenges and threats.
• Based on this, proposals for development and deployment of AI, should ensure a broad support and appropriate involvement of other relevant AI initiatives, taking into account guiding ethics principles and the current development of the AI Act.
• Proposals need to take a multi-disciplinary and cross-sectorial approach, and engage with a wide set of stakeholders (see the eligible participation section).
• European policy actions should be proposed in a priority order, notably in the area of research and innovation but not excluding other important policy areas, that would serve to strengthen European preparedness and resilience in the face of future developments within AI and related emerging technologies as well as to guide the development and deployment of these technologies in a desirable direction.