European policymakers have asked for help unravelling the "patchwork" of ethical and societal challenges as the use of artificial intelligence increases. The European Commission's group on ethics in science and new technologies on Friday issued a statement (PDF) warning that existing efforts to develop solutions to the ethical, societal and legal challenges AI presents are a "patchwork of disparate initiatives." It added that "uncoordinated, unbalanced approaches in the regulation of AI" risked "ethics shopping," resulting in the "relocation of AI development and use to regions with lower ethical standards." Instead, the group wants to start a process that will "pave the way towards a common, internationally recognized ethical and legal framework for the design, production, use and governance of artificial intelligence, robotics, and'autonomous' systems." The Commission said in a separate statement that it wanted to kick off a "wide, open and inclusive discussion on how to use and develop artificial intelligence both successfully and ethically sound."