Introducing the EU AI Act: The First Futurist Law Lab is Here!
The Futurist Law Lab Team
A collaborative post from our team members who hosted the workshop: Laura, Šárka, Kate, Matthew, and Stas.
On the 14th of May, members of the Futurist Law Lab team, Laura, Šárka, Kate, Matthew, and Stas, hosted a workshop on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act ("EU AI Act") at the University of Amsterdam ("UvA"). Having spent several months developing the project, this was our first opportunity to share it with a wider audience, and formed part of our ongoing preparations for our upcoming workshop at the European Youth Event in Strasbourg.
The workshop brought together an engaged group of participants, all with varied academic interests in politics, psychology economics and law, and all keen to explore the legal and ethical implications of AI in Europe. The session was designed to be accessible and engaging, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their familiarity with AI or EU legislation, were encouraged to critically engage with the EU AI Act.
After an overview of key AI concepts, the session moved to the EU AI Act's risk based categories, before providing an in-depth analysis of 'high risk' AI. Once this foundation was provided, participants engaged in our interactive 'Stakeholder Game". Each were given roles ranging from a teen EU citizen, generative AI start-up to a law enforcement authority, and the resulting discussions were really impactful. The participants raised thoughtful questions on a variety of topics, but seemed to take a natural interest in the use of AI in border control. They touched on the role of the Black Box Problem, potential biases within migration technology and the resulting human rights concerns. I was extremely rewarding to see how confidently participants applied the concepts introduced to them earlier in the session in their own debate. One student even mentioned that he wished he had written his thesis on the topic, something which not only reflected the strength of the discussion, but the kind of curiosity and critical engagement we designed our workshop to inspire.
We were genuinely thrilled with the response received from the participants after the session. Many noted that the technical aspects of AI, often seen as complex or even daunting, were made much more digestible. This was especially important to us, given that many did not have a technical background and demonstrated that everyone, regardless of their starting point, left with a clearer understanding of the EU AI Act itself, and the broader understanding of law, technology and their intersection. Above all, though, the success of FLL's UvA workshop affirmed the impact of our efforts and motivated us to ensure our next workshop at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam would be even better!