Regulating artificial intelligence in the EU: policy issues and interest groups positions

When preparing new legislation European Commission often turns to different stakeholders for feedback. Consultation of policy proposals brings legitimacy to policy results as well as contributes to the decline of democratic deficit. Under the principles of better regulation guidelines, European Commission is bound to consult new policies broadly. By identifying all relevant stakeholders such as interest groups, public institutions, individual businesses and individual citizens and inviting them to participate in public consultations it attempts to limit or prevent bias in representation. Previous studies have shown that a mode of consultations can limit the bias in representation. Compared to other types of consultation forms, online consultations are particularly easy to participate in. It is not necessary to be specifically invited, and participation does not depend on geographical location. However, it remains unclear whether intensely affected actors have privileged influence in the political decision process. To answer this question we will focus on the case of recently organised consultation on Regulation of artificial intelligence in the EU. The consultation was open between 20 February and 14 June 2020 and it attracted feedback from 1216 stakeholders which was followed by a roadmap phase with 133 feedbacks. The objective of consultation was to prepare a proposal of regulation of artificial intelligence since some of its uses pose specific significant risks to the application of various EU rules designed to protect fundamental rights, ensure safety and attribute liability. The initiative should ensure that the proposal is in line with EU fundamental rights. In our analysis we identify conflictual issues that interest groups pointed out in Commission’s proposal and their positions on this issues. We will specifically focus on disclosing any bias in representation in terms of type of groups participating in the consultation and the countries of origin of interest groups participating.