Artificial Intelligence at the JRC

• The European Commission (EC) launches the first version of the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence, which foresees the creation of AI Watch as a ‘Commission Knowledge Service to monitor the development, uptake and impact of artificial intelligence for Europe’, jointly developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT).  

• The JRC publishes the flagship report‘Artificial Intelligence – A European Perspective’, a first approach on AI-related topics. 

• That same year, the HUMAINT Project is born, as part of the JRC’s Centre for Advanced Studies, with the aim of understanding the societal impact of algorithms and providing scientific ground to EU policies, especially in relation to fairness, diversity and transparency.  

• The EC publishes a 'White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: a European approach to excellence and trust' presenting policy options for a trustworthy and secure development of AI, in full respect of the values and rights of EU citizens.  

• The JRC publishes ‘Defining Artificial Intelligence’ a proposal of an operational definition of AI, constituted by a concise taxonomy and a list of keywords that characterise the core domains of the AI research field. 

• It also carries out scientific research on the impact of AI on jobs, AI fairness in criminal justice and a method for AI technology readiness assessment. 

• On April, the EC proposed the AI Act, the first ever legal framework on AI, which addresses the risks of AI and positions Europe to play a leading role globally. The JRC has played an instrumental role in informing the terminology and risk classification within the Act through profuse research.  

• An updated version of the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence was released, closely aligned with the Commission’s digital and green priorities, and Europe’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• The JRC, through the AI Watch knowledge service, publishes the ‘AI Watch Index’, an analysis of multiple indicators related to the development of artificial intelligence in five concrete dimensions: global view on the AI landscape, industry, research and development (R&D), technology, and societal aspects. 

• The EC publishes a Proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive (AILD) to improve the functioning of the internal market by laying down uniform rules for certain aspects of non-contractual civil liability for damage caused with the involvement of AI systems. The JRC contributes with scientific and technical expertise to this proposal, such as the paper ‘Liability regimes in the age of AI: a use-case driven analysis of the burden of proof’.  

• The JRC published a Science for Policy Report on ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of the Child: Towards an Integrated Agenda for Research and Policy' as well as a methodology for ‘Estimating AI Investments in the European Union’ between 2018 and 2020 (also for selected investments categories in the UK and the US).  

• JRC researchers contributed to an article on ‘The landscape of facial processing applications in the context of the European AI Act and the development of trustworthy systems’. It applied the 7 requirements for Trustworthy AI defined by the European High Level Expert Group on AI and the risk level classification defined by the AI Act in the analysis.  

• The EC designates the first set of Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) under the Digital Services Act (DSA) framework. In addition, the DSA also addresses the governance of AI technologies and their integration within these platforms, aiming to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI-driven decision-making processes. 

• The JRC launches the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency to provide scientific and technical expertise to the EC’s supervisory and enforcement role of the systemic obligations on these platforms. 

• The JRC publishes an analysis of the current standardisation roadmap in support of the AI Act: 'Analysis of the preliminary AI standardisation work plan in support of the AI Act’.     

• JRC research continues addressing Trustworthy AI from different angles, including articles developed by JRC teams, such as:  

  • ‘Documenting High-Risk AI: A European Regulatory Perspective’, which discusses transparency obligations introduced in the AI Act. 
  • ‘The role of explainable AI in the context of the AI Act’, which aims to bring some clarity around explainable AI (XAI), understanding that while not a requirement of the AI Act, it can support human oversight and increase transparency (as required by the Act).

• On 21 May, the Council of the European Union approved the AI Act. It is the first of its kind in the world and can set a global standard for AI regulation. 

The adoption of the Act is not the end of the AI journey for the JRC. We are committed to contributing our scientific expertise during the implementation phase of the Act, towards the supervision of high-impact foundation models and the set-up of the European AI Office. Science is at the heart of EU policies and we will keep providing analysis and foresight for the challenges and opportunities that will follow.