In 2017, the government established a task force to develop strategies to boost France’s leadership in the field of AI, including two working groups on how to manage the economic, social, ethical, national sovereignty, and national security implications of AI.131 The resulting report covered several themes, including the importance of AI serving “autonomous individual development, necessary for a functioning democratic society,” improving transparency, and giving individuals more control over their private data.132
126 Id. at 5, 26–42. 127 Id. at 5. 128 Id. at 48-50. 129 Id. at 50. 130 Id. at 54-60.
131 FRANCE I.A.[FRANCE A.I.], RAPPORT DE SYNTHÈSE [SYNTHESIS REPORT](Mar. 21, 2017), http://cache.media.
enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/Actus/86/1/Conclusions_Groupes_Travail_ France_IA_738861.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/2YEU-JRUZ.
Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: Europe and Central Asia
Another government mission, commissioned by the French prime minister and led by member of Parliament and mathematician Cédric Villani, worked from September 2017 to March 2018 to study policy options for AI in France. This mission presented its findings in a March 2018 conference entitled “AI for Humanity,” which was held at the Collège de France, one of France’s premier research institutions.133 President Macron made a speech during this conference, in which he outlined France’s ambition and strategy with regard to AI.134 The President’s speech, and the Villani Mission’s report, included considerations on aspects of AI that may need a legislative or regulatory framework. Among other considerations, the Villani Mission’s report discussed the necessity of “opening the Black Box” (better understanding why an algorithm comes to a certain conclusion), implementing ethics by design, considering collective rights to data, continued human control over AI, promoting equality, and ensuring that everyone can benefit from AI.135
At the international level, France recently joined Canada to create an expert International Panel on Artificial Intelligence to “support and guide the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence, centered on the respect for human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.”136 IV. Autonomous Vehicles
France has expressed the ambition of taking a major role in the development of autonomous vehicles, with an emphasis on safety. According to a policy paper published in May 2018, the French government’s strategy includes a progressive approach to experimenting with autonomous vehicles, special attention to road security and cybersecurity risks, close cooperation between public authorities and the car industry to develop a regulatory framework, and European cooperation.137 In the spirit of the latter point, France entered into a joint endeavor with Germany and Luxembourg to create a cross-border, digital test bed for automated and connected driving.138
133 Artificial Intelligence: “Making France a Leader”, GOUVERNEMENT.FR (Mar. 30, 2018), https://www.gouverne
ment.fr/en/artificial-intelligence-making-france-a-leader, archived at https://perma.cc/B8UT-VY3K.
134 Id.; Speech, Emmanuel Macron, AI for Humanity (College of France, Paris, Mar. 29, 2018), http://www.elysee.
fr/declarations/article/transcription-du-discours-du-president-de-la-republique-emmanuel-macron-sur-l-intelligence- artificielle/ (in French), archived at https://perma.cc/T2B9-YPMA. See also CÉDRIC VILLANI,DONNER UN SENS À L’INTELLIGENCE ARTIFICIELLE [FOR A MEANINGFUL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE] (Mar. 2018), https://www.aifor humanity.fr/pdfs/9782111457089_Rapport_Villani_accessible.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/QTC5-DPW6, English version available at https://www.aiforhumanity.fr/pdfs/MissionVillani_ Report_ENG-VF.pdf, archived at
https://perma.cc/G9YS-DCXH.
135 VILLANI, supra note 134, at 15–17 & 112–147.
136 France and Canada Create New Expert International Panel on Artificial Intelligence, GOUVERNEMENT.FR
(French government website) (Dec. 7, 2018), https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/france-and-canada-create-new- expert-international-panel-on-artificial-intelligence, archived at https://perma.cc/J95F-C9PR.
137 RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE [FRENCH REPUBLIC],DÉVELOPPEMENT DES VÉHICULES AUTONOMES,ORIENTATIONS
STRATÉGIQUES POUR L’ACTION PUBLIQUE [DEVELOPMENT OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES,STRATEGIC ORIENTATIONS FOR PUBLIC ACTION] 8 (May 2018), https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/90p%20VDEF.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/8GHC-6TCZ.
138 FRANCO-GERMAN-LUXEMBURGISH COOPERATION ON AUTOMATED AND CONNECTED DRIVING:CONCEPT FOR THE
CROSS-BORDER DIGITAL TEST BED (May 8, 2018), https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2018- 05-08 Concept Digital Test Bed GER FRA LUX.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/BK6Y-9HQT.
Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: Europe and Central Asia
Furthermore, beginning January 1, 2019, the French government has been able to authorize level 4 autonomous vehicles on public roads for testing purposes.139
V. Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems
A 2013 French initiative has led to annual international discussions on LAWS within the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.140 President Macron declared in
an interview that he is “dead against” the deployment of LAWS.141 However, the French government has only proposed the adoption of a nonbinding declaration to curtail LAWS, and is opposed to the idea of a new international treaty on the issue.142
Germany
The German Federal Government aims to make Germany “a leading centre for AI . . . through pursuit of a speedy and comprehensive transfer of research findings to applications and the modernisation of administration,” and aspires to make “AI made in Germany” a globally recognized quality mark.143 Its priorities are to expand AI research, transfer research findings and AI methods to businesses, support innovation competitions, create incentives for start-ups, develop international and European frameworks for AI in the labor market, fund and attract international scientists and talent, use AI in public administration, make data available and usable, revise the regulatory framework to ensure legal certainty if necessary, set standards, network on a national and international level, and engage in dialogue with different stakeholders.
139 Décret n° 2018-211 du 28 mars 2018 relatif à l’expérimentation de véhicules à délégation de conduite sur les
voies publiques [Decree No. 2018-211 of 28 March 2018 Regarding Experimentation of Delegated Driving Vehicles on Public Roads], art. 9, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000036750342&date Texte=&categorieLien=id, archived at https://perma.cc/JF4J-4U3A.
140 Presentation and Position of France, MISSION PERMANENTE DE LA FRANCE AUPRÈS DE LA CONFÉRENCE DU
DÉSARMEMENT À GENÈVE [PERMANENT REPRESENTATION OF FRANCE TO THE CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT IN
GENEVA] (Aug. 3, 2016), https://cd-geneve.delegfrance.org/Presentation-and-position-of-France-1160, archived at
https://perma.cc/6XD3-U82R.
141 Nicholas Thompson, Emmanuel Macron Talks to Wired About France’s AI Strategy, WIRED.COM (Mar. 31,
2018), https://www.wired.com/story/emmanuel-macron-talks-to-wired-about-frances-ai-strategy/, archived at
https://perma.cc/DA6U-J2F8.
142 Armes : Il faut négocier un traité d’interdiction des armes létales autonomes [Weapons: We Must Negotiate a
Treaty to Ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons], HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH (Aug. 27, 2018), https://www.hrw.org/fr/ news/2018/08/27/armes-il-faut-negocier-un-traite-dinterdiction-des-armes-letales-autonomes, archived at
https://perma.cc/JC23-3BFB; CAMPAIGN TO STOP KILLER ROBOTS, REPORT ON ACTIVITIES,supra note 74, at 8.
143 Bundesregierung [Federal Government], Eckpunkte der Bundesregierung für eine Strategie Künstliche
Intelligenz [Key Points for a Federal Government Strategy on Artificial Intelligence] (July 18, 2018), at 1, no. 1a,
https://www. bmbf.de/files/180718 Eckpunkte_KI-Strategie final Layout.pdf, archived at http://perma.cc/8PFK- HP2Z, English translation available at https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Downloads/E/key-points-for-federal- government-strategy-on-artificial-intelligence.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4, archived at http://perma.cc/5MSP- 5NPF.
Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: Europe and Central Asia