European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT), 2024.

A study commissioned by the European Commission highlights the significant potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve public sector services across the EU. The report emphasizes that AI can enhance citizen-government interactions, boost analytical capabilities, and increase efficiency in key areas such as healthcare, mobility, e-Government, and education. These sectors are identified as among the most ready for large-scale AI deployment, with applications ranging from autonomous vehicles and smart traffic systems to AI-driven healthcare solutions and education technologies.

European Parliament: Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union and Ünver, A., Artificial intelligence (AI) and human rights – Using AI as a weapon of repression and its impact on human rights – In-depth analysis, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This in-depth analysis (IDA) explores the most prominent actors, cases and techniques of algorithmic authoritarianism together with the legal, regulatory and diplomatic framework related to AI-based biases as well as deliberate misuses. With the world leaning heavily towards digital transformation, AI’s use in policy, economic and social decision-making has introduced alarming trends in repressive and authoritarian agendas. Such misuse grows ever more relevant to the European Parliament, resonating with its commitment to safeguarding human rights in the context of digital trans-formation.

Adam, M. and Hocquard, C., European Parliamentary Research Service, 2023.

AI is an opportunity to improve the democratic process in our societies. For example, it can help citizens to gain a better understanding of politics and engage more easily in democratic debate. Likewise, politicians can get closer to citizens and eventually represent them more effectively. Such an alignment between citizens and politicians could change the face of electoral campaigns and considerably improve the policymaking process, making it more accurate and efficient. Although concerns over the use of AI in politics have been present since the late 2010s, those related to democracies and the election process in particular have grown with the recent evolution of AI.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, Simons, W., Turrini, A. and Vivian, L., Artificial intelligence – Economic impact, opportunities, challenges, implications for policy, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This discussion paper presents the key features of Artificial Intelligence (AI), highlighting the main differences with respect to previous IT and digital technologies. It presents the most relevant facts about AI diffusion across EU countries, and discusses the main economic implications, focusing especially on its impact on productivity and labour markets. While AI presents a formidable opportunity, it also entails major challenges, with implications for policy. This paper focuses on policies to remove bottlenecks to AI development and adoption, regulatory policies, competition policy, policies to deal with labour market and distributive implications.

Europol, Facing reality? – Law enforcement and the challenge of deepfakes – An observatory report from the Europol innovation lab, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This report presents the first published analysis of the Europol Innovation Lab’s Observatory function, focusing on deepfakes, the technology behind them and their potential impact on law enforcement and EU citizens. Deepfake technology uses Artificial Intelligence to audio and audio-visual content. Deepfake technology can produce content that convincingly shows people saying or doing things they never did, or create personas that never existed in the first place. To date, the Europol Innovation Lab has organised three strategic foresight activities with EU Member State law enforcement agencies and other experts. During strategic foresight activities conducted by the Europol Innovation Lab, over 80 law enforcement experts identified and analysed the trends and technologies they believed would impact their work until 2030. These sessions showed that one of the most worrying technological trends is the evolution and detection of deepfakes, as well as the need to address disinformation more generally.

European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, Mattioli, R. and Malatras, A., Foresight cybersecurity threats for 2030 – Update – Extended report, European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, 2024.

The “ENISA Foresight Cybersecurity Threats for 2030” study represents a comprehensive analysis and assessment of emerging cybersecurity threats projected for the year 2030. This collaborative endeavour, spearheaded by European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), has employed a structured and multidimensional methodology to assess, forecast, and prioritise potential threats. It was firstly published in 2022, and the current report is its second iteration which reassesses the previously identified top ten threats and respective trends whilst exploring the developments over the course of a year. Our aim was to reassess the results of the Foresight Cybersecurity Threats for 2030, identify potential new trends/threats and understand how the previous trends developed over the course of the year. One of the key findings of our assessment was that the threat landscape is rapidly evolving.

European Commission, Joint Research Centre. Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

The European approach for AI focuses on two main areas: excellence and trust, enabling the development and uptake of AI while ensuring people's safety and fundamental rights. However, research and policy documentations do not always use the same vocabulary, often generating misunderstandings among researchers, policy makers, and the general public.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The trust in democratic processes around the world is decreasing as the world is facing multiple challenges causing political and economic instability. The inflation and an impending recession, together with the ongoing threat of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have contributed to a decline in democracy around the world. The number of people who believe that democracy is the answer to these issues is declining. Therefore, research on the past and present challenges and tensions in democracy can help to better understand and strengthen democracy, its resilience and stability. It will foster democracy’s further development with a view to enhancing representation, participation, openness, pluralism, tolerance, the effectiveness of public policy, non-discrimination, civic engagement, the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law. These reflect the European Union’s values as defined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty. This booklet gives an overview of projects that were selected for funding under the Horizon Europe 2022 call “Reshaping democracies” (HORIZON-CL2-2022- DEMOCRACY-01 and 02).

European University Institute and Galariotis, I., European University Institute, 2024.

In a democracy, human beings make decisions with the aim of serving the will of the people and promoting the collective welfare of society. While machines can learn from data and generate potential democratic solutions, they fall short in grasping the intricacies of the subjective reality of democratic politics. Entrusting Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems with decision-making carries the risk of following optimal solutions shaped by falsified objective realities that AI algorithms aim to optimise. Even if the data were comprehensive and sufficient, modelling approaches struggle to fully encapsulate the complexities of subjective realities within global democracies and societies.

European Parliament: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union and Maciejewski, M., Law and ICT, European Parliament, 2024.

Exponential progress in the area of ICT improves access to data and information, which in its turn can lead to greater accessibility, reduced complexity, efficiency and respect of fundamental rights in policy, law making and implementation of law. Drafting and publication of laws need to be reformed from paper based format to modern digital media. Expertise, evidence and data should constitute mandatory elements of policy and law making. Ex-post quantified evaluation of legislation needs to be applied consistently. This study was prepared by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee.

European Commission: European Research Council Executive Agency, Mapping ERC frontier research artificial intelligence, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The European Research Council (ERC) is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. Since its establishment in 2007, it has been a cornerstone of the EU’s research and innovation funding programmes. The ERC gives its grantees the freedom to develop ambitious research projects that can lead to advances at the frontiers of knowledge and set a clear and inspirational target for frontier research across Europe. The ERC funds a rich and diverse portfolio of projects in all fields of science and scholarship, without any predefined academic or policy priorities. These projects can have an impact well beyond science and provide frontier knowledge and innovation to help solve societal challenges and inform EU policy objectives. This report aims to highlight how ERC-funded curiosity-driven research projects are developing or using Artificial Intelligence in their scientific processes, and how these projects and their outputs can help to both define and enable the implementation of policies related to AI and its cross-cutting applications.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Khabirpour, N., Pelizzari, L., Limbers, J., Richiardi, M. et al., Study on poverty and income inequality in the context of the digital transformation – Final report. Part B, Use of digital technologies (including AI) by the public sector for improving the delivery and design of social policies and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This study is made of two parts: part A and part B. Part A of the study analyses – through 27 country fiches – the extent to which each EU Member State is prepared for ensuring a socially fair digital transformation in the coming years, based on both its current situation and future prospects. In this analysis, key areas of focus include the labour market, digital skills of the population, social protection as well as cross-cutting dimensions, such as the digitalization level of businesses and the quality of digital infrastructures. Part B of the study reviews – through 30 case studies – some of the main actual and potential uses of digital technologies (including AI) by a country’s public sector for improving the design and the delivery of social benefits and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality (the case studies analysed are mainly in Member States but also in a few third countries).

European Commission: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Khabirpour, N., Pelizzari, L., Limbers, J., Richiardi, M. et al., Study on poverty and income inequality in the context of the digital transformation – Final report. Part B, Use of digital technologies (including AI) by the public sector for improving the delivery and design of social policies and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This study is made of two parts: part A and part B. Part A of the study analyses – through 27 country fiches – the extent to which each EU Member State is prepared for ensuring a socially fair digital transformation in the coming years, based on both its current situation and future prospects. In this analysis, key areas of focus include the labour market, digital skills of the population, social protection as well as cross-cutting dimensions, such as the digitalization level of businesses and the quality of digital infrastructures. Part B of the study reviews – through 30 case studies – some of the main actual and potential uses of digital technologies (including AI) by a country’s public sector for improving the design and the delivery of social benefits and active labour market policies, as well as for complementing the monitoring of poverty and income inequality (the case studies analysed are mainly in Member States but also in a few third countries).

European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Successful and timely uptake of artificial intelligence in science in the EU, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are one of the most disruptive general purpose applications at the service of research and innovation. It acts as a catalyst for scientific breakthroughs and is rapidly becoming a key instrument in the scientific process in all areas of research. In this Scientific Opinion (SO) the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors examines how the European Commission can accelerate the responsible take-up of artificial intelligence in science in the European Union. It focuses on a responsible uptake of AI in science – including providing access to highquality AI, respecting European values, and strengthening the position of Europe in science to boost innovation and prosperity in the EU. This SO is published in the context of the Scientific Advice Mechanism which provides independent scientific evidence and policy recommendations to the European institutions by request of the College of Commissioners.