The Barcelona City Council establishes an external Advisory Council on AI, Ethics and Digital Rights
The city of Barcelona has established an external consultative body made up of 15 independent experts who will advise the City Council on the use of artificial intelligence for the common good.
Besides advising the municipal government on the use of AI, the body’s main task will be to carry out studies and evaluate the impact of high-risk algorithms on citizens’ fundamental rights before implemention, assessing possible undesirable effects and introducing any necessary measures to correct them. Especially in sensitive areas such as education, employment or essential public services. Its mission will be to assure that the push for innovative public policies guarantees citizens’ digital rights at all times.
The council will also promote collaboration with universities, research centers, companies and other entities related to this area. It will also propose projects to make Barcelona a reference city for technological humanism.
The experts that constitute the body work in different research institutions and count on expertise drawn from the academic field, both from scientific and technological disciplines as well as from social sciences and humanities, all with previous experience on ethics and AI. The experts will be part of the body for five years, extendable for a maximum of one more term, and will meet at least twice a year. Working groups will also be set up for topics of interest.