Ms Rebecca Keatinge:

Undoubtedly it is progress. At a recent conference we held, we had a workshop on AI where we asked whether the EU AI Act would have guarded against that scandal. We had our Dutch colleague over. In part, it would have because it provides prohibitions on certain uses of AI and it provides protections and regulations for high-risk AI. It is absolutely a helpful framework within which to capture some of the potential fundamental rights and equality violations that can occur. There is an overall unease in terms of how AI is going to be deployed in a way that does not promote discrimination. It exists within a broader society where we have systemic discrimination. It is really just a further example of that. That is an extension of our existing function to combat that and promote equality.

The legal certainty piece is really important. I said there was some uncertainty. In any legal text there are going to be quibbles about the interpretation of a certain term, but it provides a really valuable broader framework. We are working across Europe to make sure we are singing from the same hymn sheet. It is progressive in that regard. It is the difficult phase of the how and the wheretofore - this stage of implementation - that is challenging.