Europol has announced the development of a new AI accountability framework designed to guide the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by security practitioners. The move represents a major milestone in the Accountability Principles for Artificial Intelligence (AP4AI) project, which aims to create a practical toolkit that can directly support AI accountability when used in the internal security domain. The "world-first" framework was developed in consultation with experts from 28 countries, representing law enforcement officials, lawyers and prosecutors, data protection and fundamental rights experts, as well as technical and industry experts. The initiative began in 2021 amid growing interest in and use of AI in security, both by internal cybersecurity teams and law enforcement agencies to tackle cybercrime and other offenses. Research conducted by the AP4AI demonstrated significant public support for this approach; in a survey of more than 5500 citizens across 30 countries, 87% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that AI should be used to protect children and vulnerable groups and to investigate criminals and criminal organizations.

Two experiences of how AI developers within the federal government are pursuing AI accountability practices were outlined at the AI World Government event held virtually and in-person this week in Alexandria, Va. Taka Ariga, chief data scientist and director at the US Government Accountability Office, described an AI accountability framework he uses within his agency and plans to make available to others. And Bryce Goodman, chief strategist for AI and machine learning at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a unit of the Department of Defense founded to help the US military make faster use of emerging commercial technologies, described work in his unit to apply principles of AI development to terminology that an engineer can apply. Ariga, the first chief data scientist appointed to the US Government Accountability Office and director of the GAO's Innovation Lab, discussed an AI Accountability Framework he helped to develop by convening a forum of experts in the government, industry, nonprofits, as well as federal inspector general officials and AI experts. "We are adopting an auditor's perspective on the AI accountability framework," Ariga said.