The Risks to the Rule of Law at the Dawn of AI Dissemination

Author:

Attorney Marcello Bergonzi Perrone - Attorney at the Italian Corte di Cassazione

Lecturer in the Master's Degree in Advanced Studies in Digital Investigations at the Department of Law of the University of Milan

Abstract

In a famous interview conducted in 2004, television host Fabio Fazio asked Bill Gates whether humanity would need more philosophers or engineers in the future (1).

Gates responded in a manner consistent with prevailing expectations at the time, asserting that philosophers would not contribute to software development or the cure for AIDS, while scientists would.

It would be interesting to pose the same question to Microsoft’s Founder today, since he is a key figure in the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) nowadays.

So, with a hint of confidence, I would suggest that his response in 2024, given the significant advancements in the development and deployment of generative AI, would likely be quite different.

It is no coincidence that the Group of 52 high-level experts on AI, appointed by the European Commission to formulate guidelines for community legal regulation, identified the respect for ethical principles and values as one of the three fundamental components of trustworthy AI as early as 2018 (2).

In this context, it is particularly significant that a theologian, Father Paolo Benanti, is the only Italian member of the UN Committee on AI; in fact, following the resignation of Giuliano Amato, he has assumed the role of President of the Artificial Intelligence Commission on Information. (3)

Why Does AI Require Ethics?

The immense potential of a pervasive and unchecked use of AI is not just impressive, it is already being unleashed.

The computational power allows for sophisticated “subliminal techniques that act without an individual's awareness or deliberately manipulative or deceptive techniques,” which are rightly prohibited by Article 5 of the AI Act. (4)

When combined with the insidious practice of social scoring---which refers to the evaluation and classification of individuals based on their social behavior and interactions---already implemented in China (5), the chilling of real-time cataloging through facial recognition, the relentless surveillance of our movements, preferences, and even our private lives, it becomes alarmingly clear that unrestrained use of these tools poses a grave threat to the democratic values and principles that form the very foundation of our society.

This underscores the necessity for an anthropocentric vision of AI and an approach that deeply respects Fundamental Rights, which for us Europeans are encapsulated in the founding principles of our European Union. 

In our descent into a dystopian Orwellian nightmare, the malevolent use of AI today manipulates masses of citizens bombarded by false news and targeted at their most hidden vulnerabilities, ultimately erasing the freedom of choice that is central to our Rule of Law. 

In an "Onlife" world (6), as Floridi (2014) beautifully articulates, the ethics underpinning AI are not just essential; they are our guiding light. They serve as the primary tool to translate into practice the bulwark that defends individual rights and our democratic expressions: the Law.

In this context, the AI Act and other numerous legal provisions governing the infosphere, despite facing criticism for regulatory excess, emerge as our sole means to contain the danger of being governed by machines rather than the other way around.

References

1) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbmckw2FitA

2) European Commission, 2019. "Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI".

Retrieved from: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai

3) Pier Luigi Pisa, 2024. "Cosa fa (e cos'è) la Commissione italiana che studia l'impatto dell'IA sull'informazione". La Repubblica, March 13, 2024.

Avilable at: https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2024/03/13/news/rapporto_intelligenza_artificiale_editoria_commissione_italia-422305091/ (Accessed October 17)

4) European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 2024. "Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Laying Down Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act)." Official Journal of the European Union, L 2024/1689, July 12, 2024.

Retrived from: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj 

5) Mondadori Scienza, Focus.it. "Cosa è e come funziona il sistema di credito sociale cinese".

Available at: https://www.focus.it/tecnologia/digital-life/cos-e-e-come-funziona-il-sistema-di-credito-sociale-cinese (Accessed October 17, 2024).

6) Floridi, L., 2014. "The Onlife Manifesto: Being Human in a Hyperconnected Era. Springer.

Biography of the Guest Expert

Marcello Bergonzi Perrone is an Attorney at the Italian Corte di Cassazione (Court of Cassation), with over fifteen years of experience collaborating with the Department of Legal Informatics at the Faculty of Law of the University of Milan (Italy).

He has authored several chapters in various textbooks used by students and served as an editor for the legal journal "Ciberspazio e Diritto", directed by Professor Giovanni Ziccardi (a full professor at the above-mentioned department) and he is a lecturer in the Master’s program in Digital Investigations at the Faculty (mentioned above). 

Bergonzi Perrone is also a speaker at numerous continuing education courses and professional training sessions for lawyers and consultants on new technology law and he has authored numerous articles in national journals.

His contributions extend also to various international conferences and he has been a member of the Circle of Telecommunication Jurists---one of the most prominent associations in the field of new technology law---since its founding.

In 2022, he published a peer-reviewed monograph titled "Cyberstalking and Cyberbullying: The Threat Comes from the Web" with the publishing company Giuffré Francis LeFebvre Ed., and is currently writing a new monograph on the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and Law.