Why Europe should stick to its AI Act

In her keynote speech at the DMEA, the Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology stressed that trustworthy AI solutions could become a trademark for Europe that could be promoted with confidence.

‘We have now established common European rules for artificial intelligence,’ which should be followed by national implementing legislation in the coming years, she said. In view of the current world situation and the intensifying competition, the fact that the first voices are now being raised that are once again questioning the EU AI Act is ‘not my personal recommendation’. ‘If we start this debate all over again, I believe we will have legal uncertainty for everyone in the next few years,’ said the Green politician.

Reliable rules for trustworthy AI

Instead, it is crucial to implement the rules pragmatically ‘so that there is reliability: these are the framework conditions for artificial intelligence in Europe, and then there is also great potential to confidently set a standard: to have a trustworthy AI here that can represent a special mark of quality’.

This is also a great opportunity for Germany as a location for AI, especially in the healthcare sector, emphasised Christmann. However, the Federal Republic of Germany has its work cut out to show more pragmatism in the digitalisation of the healthcare system – so that data protection is not used in the wrong place to prevent certain innovations.

Pragmatic implementation instead of long debates

The fact that opt-out is the norm rather than opt-in for electronic patient files (ePA), for example, is ‘a step forward that we should not underestimate’. When it was introduced, it turned out that only three to four per cent of people had opted out of the ePA. After long debates about whether an opt-out was reasonable for patients, it became clear that ‘in the end, what matters is to have a service or a product that offers people added value, then they also see the point of providing their data.’

Christmann said she would like to see a similar pragmatism for the upcoming research data law. In the debate about who should and should not have access to research data, she believes it is unwise to label publicly funded research as the ‘good guys’ and to view privately funded research with fundamental scepticism. If Germany wants to be a successful healthcare location, the healthcare industry must also have access to research data.