AHRC Calls For Face Recognition Moratoriam To Protect Human Rights.
AHRC Calls For Face Recognition Moratoriam – Australian Human Rights Commission has called for a legislated Australian AI Act supported by an AI regulator to protect citizens from risks posed by artificial intelligence.
It’s the second time AHRC has called for legislation, after first proposing a moratorium on facial recognition and other biometric technologies that ‘contribute to decision making’ until protections are instated back in 2021.
AHRC made 47 recommendations to the industry department’s current consultation, including calling on the Federal Government to review the current patchwork of AI regulations and to introduce dedicated legislation to fill the gaps using existing legal frameworks like privacy laws.
According to AHRS, AI poses unique and complex harms, as well as new risks to rights, and laws should be backed by large fines and outright bans on high-risk applications.
AHRC also called for an AI safety commissioner to be set up as an independent statutory office and would provide guidance on development and use of AI under proposed new laws. The AI Safety Commissioner would not undertake enforcement but would assist other regulators to adapt and respond to the rise of AI technology.
AHRC Calls For Face Recognition Moratoriam
Other recommendations included building digital literacy, forcing social media companies to report misinformation and disinformation to a permanent government taskforce, and the implementation of a human rights approach to procurement of products and services that use AI.
In its latest submission, AHRC repeated its earlier call for a moratorium on the use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies in decision making that might pose a risk to human rights.
The current AI consultation has led to vigorous engagement, with AI suppliers backing a continued use of technology-neutral regulations, while others wanting government intervention with a specific focus on AI technology.
It’s almost certain that this Labor Government, which has strong humanist tendencies, will move to regulate AI. The Government’s Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper canvasses existing regulatory and governance responses in Australia and overseas, identifies potential gaps and proposes several options to strengthen the framework governing the safe and responsible use of AI.
“Using AI safely and responsibly is a balancing act the whole world is grappling with at the moment,” Australia’s industry minister, Ed Husic, said recently.
“As I have been saying for many years, there needs to be appropriate safeguards to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI…and to build trust and public confidence in these critical technologies.”
You can read the Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper and the National Science and Technology Council’s paper Rapid Response Report: Generative AI here or see more SEN news here.
“AHRC Calls For Face Recognition Moratoriam To Protect Human Rights.”
