An Algorithmic Supervision Authority Is Being Proposed by the Norwegian Liberal Party
A draft political proposal from the Norwegian Liberal Party was posted today asking for an algorithmic supervisory authority and increased spending on AI research and education
A draft political proposal was made today (16th of June, 2023) in the Norwegian parliament.
This article is a translation of the proposal made by representatives in the Norwegian Liberal Party.
Background
Artificial intelligence (AI) has existed in various forms for many years, and the basic technology behind AI has existed since the 1960s at the latest. Many services that are taken for granted today, such as search engines, robot vacuum cleaners and online banking services, are based to a greater or lesser extent on artificial intelligence. In the past year, however, AI has gone from being useful tools in the background of our everyday lives to becoming common property in the form of so-called generative AI. In December 2022, the foundation/company Open AI made the AI ”Chat GPT” available to the general public, and the application became the fastest growing in history. This has contributed to a larger, public debate about the use of AI in society.
The debate surrounding artificial intelligence in Norway can be described as first euphoric and then panic. Recently, some people have advocated a complete halt in the further development of artificially intelligent systems at the level of GPT4 for at least half a year, pending regulation and security systems. At the same time, there is a serious debate going on about whether AI will exterminate humanity.
The proponents believe that the best way to meet the new technology is with lowered shoulders, a knowledge-based policy, being at the forefront of adapting the regulations and with more cooperation across national borders in Europe. There is no point in pausing technology. It will only set Norway back in development compared to other parts of the world. Norway and Europe, with a strong legal tradition within the framework of a liberal society and a regulated market economy, are very well suited to adopt such new technology, and to find good solutions to the challenges it brings — solutions that are better than market players or states with no respect for privacy and personal protection can rule field.
Artificial intelligence and related technology do not exist outside of society, and it does not need to be treated as anything significant other than other technological innovations. Norway has a broad set of legal rules and principles for which considerations the public sector must take care of and how the private sector is allowed to develop. These rules will also apply to artificial intelligence. Where there may be a need to develop new rules, or where current rules need elaboration or clarification, this should be identified and drawn up as quickly as possible.
The laws must be interpreted and re-applied in the face of new technology. There is no reason to speculate that artificially intelligent systems should be responsible for their own actions. General legal rules on liability also apply to private individuals and companies that use artificial intelligence in their systems.
The challenge Norway faces is that the country lacks expertise in artificial intelligence in all sectors, there is too little research into it and there is little guidance for public and private actors in its use.
We can address this. At the same time, Norway has every opportunity to cooperate more actively than today with the EU, which has come the furthest in the world in regulating new technology in a way that puts the interests of society and individuals at the center, compare GDPR on privacy and the ongoing work with a piece of legislation for artificial intelligence (AI Act).
Suggestion:
Against this background, the following is proposed.
- The Norwegian Parliament asks the government as soon as possible to present a plan for strengthening research into artificial intelligence and the importance of the use of artificial intelligence in society, as part of the follow-up to the Long-Term Plan for Research and Higher Education.
- The Norwegian Parliament asks the government to scale up the number of study places allocated to artificial intelligence within educational areas such as natural sciences, law, philosophy and ethics.
- The Norwegian Parliament asks the government to prepare implementation of the European Union’s AI Act, with the aim that it can enter into force in Norway at the same time as it enters into force in the EU.
- The Norwegian Parliament asks the government to initiate work to examine how relevant aspects of the Norwegian regulatory framework are to be interpreted and applied in light of the use of artificial intelligence, including, among other things, the intellectual property rules, the criminal procedure rules, competition law and administrative regulations.
- The Norwegian Parliament asks the government to establish a separate algorithm supervision.
You can find the original proposal here in Norwegian:
