New EU Strategy on Artificial Intelligence Lexology

On 25 April 2018, a new Communication was published that sets out the European Commission's (EC's) new strategy to boost Europe's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and related industries, while at the same time preparing for socioeconomic changes emanating from these emerging technologies. The Communication also poses questions as to whether – and, if so, where and how – the European legal and ethical framework needs to be adapted due to the advent of AI. The EC refers to AI as "systems that show intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment, and performing various tasks with some degree of autonomy to achieve specific goals."1 European leaders are considering AI as a top priority. On 10 April, 24 member states2 and Norway co-signed a Declaration which commits them to working together on AI.