The person, Constitution must be at centre of AI says Privacy G7

(By Titti Santamato) (ANSA) - ROME, OCT 12 - The need to accompany the progress of technologies such as artificial intelligence with anthropocentric solutions, which put the person at the centre, and respect for the Constitution was among the conclusions of the three-day G7 Privacy meeting in Rome.
    The Personal Data Protection Authorities of Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States held discussions at the meeting and approved seven documents.
    "We tried to reach agreement on the goals and methods to adopt in this phase of society's evolution with countries with different systems," explained Pasquale Stanzione, the President of the Italian Personal Data Protection Authority, and Vice President Ginevra Cerrina Feroni, as they illustrated the final declaration.
    The G7 Privacy did not just address the issue of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, it also focused on the free circulation of data and the protection of minors.
    With regards to the latter point, Stanzione observed: "we all found each other in agreement that we need to develop an adequate digital pedagogy that convinces and, above all, encourages minors to use computers and smartphones consciously.
    "We must make them aware that making statements on these devices means having them spread on the Web and the is no right to be forgotten or de-indexing that can erase this element," he continued.
    "The true reality is that of relationships. The reality if of Alexa, Siri and the metaverse is not true reality".
    Cerrina Feron stressed that "we are in the middle of a digital transition covering all sectors of public administration, from healthcare to education.
    "Accompanying all sectors with continuous dialogue is a complex process because the digital transition affects all the rights and duties of citizens," she continued.
    As regards intelligence artificial, a central issue of the G7 Privacy and now of our daily lives, the vice president of the personal data protection authority emphasized that technology must be "an amplifier of rights and freedoms and not a source of new injustices, inequalities and excessive concentrations of public or private power.
    "The word that has been mentioned most over the last few days is 'trustworthy' AI. We found a very broad agreement on this," she concluded.
    Stanzione then spoke about the issue of data protection in the IoT, the Internet of Things, i.e. objects that we have at home like the TV or the fridge; and of the need for "maximum caution" in video surveillance, in the dissemination of biometric data and in predictive justice too "because the boundary between the need for security and respect for the human person is extremely fine".
    When talking about the difficult balance between innovation and the evolution of AI, Stanzione underlined that there is "no opposition to progress" saying it "will probably be necessary to make the specific legislation a little more flexible" while "keeping in mind the rigor of the Constitution".
    Stanzione and Cerrina Feroni concluded that: "in this great new frontier of artificial intelligence, it is necessary to recognize the role, the acquired skills and the independence that the privacy authorities will have to have in AI governance, regardless of political decisions. We hope that policy makers will be able to take in this valuable information". (ANSA).