OptimalAI
AI POLICY
Council of Europe
We were a part of the Council of Europe's CAHAI committee that created the AI Treaty between the Council's 46 member states.
The CAHAI Principles on AI were endorsed by the G20 at the 2019 Osaka Summit
OptimalAI's scientists are part of the Council of Europe's AI committee working towards an AI Treaty
The Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation founded to uphold the human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. It has 46 member states with a combined population of approximately 675 million. It also has a group of official observer countries which include the United States, Canada and Japan. The Council of Europe does not make laws, but it can enforce international agreements reached by member states on various topics. The best-known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which functions on the basis of the European Convention on Human Rights.
AI Committee
Between 2019 and 2021, the Council of Europe's Ad Hoc Committee on AI (CAHAI) was tasked with proposing a legal framework for the development, design and application of AI. OptimalAI scientists were a part of the committee whose study was based upon the Council of Europe’s standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The CAHAI was instructed to take into account:
- The standards of the Council of Europe relevant to the design, development and application of digital technologies, in the fields of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, in particular on the basis of existing legal instruments
- Relevant existing universal and regional international legal instruments, work undertaken by other Council of Europe bodies as well as ongoing work in other international and regional organizations
- A gender perspective, building cohesive societies and promoting and protecting rights of persons with disabilities in the performance of its tasks.
In addition to CAHAI's interdisciplinary experts, the committee worked with the Council of Europe's digital partners, including Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft.
About the Council of Europe's Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI)
AI Treaty
In 2021, the CAHAI published its “Possible elements of a legal framework on artificial intelligence based on the Council of Europe’s standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.” The report, co-authored by OptimalAI scientists, established the need for an international, legally binding treaty focused on AI. This laid the groundwork for the successive Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI). The CAI are now building upon the CAHAI’s recommendations to create a legally binding Council of Europe AI Treaty.
CAHAI Reports
As a part of CAHAI, OptimalAI co-authored multi reports and recommendations.
CAHAI's Recommendations for an AI Treaty
CAHAI's Towards Regulation of AI Systems
CAHAI Feasibility Study