Mapping of civil society demands for the Artificial Intelligence Act

The Client is a foundation who focus on democracy and human rights in Europe.

In April 2021, the European Commission published the proposal for the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). The policy discussion about the proposal until then had been largely dominated by industry and EU member state narratives focusing on AI systems as both a force for innovation and economic growth and as an instrument of geopolitical competition. However there was no real overview of the different views and positions of civil society organisations on the different elements of the draft AI Act.

The Client approached AWO to conduct a study to analyse civil society policy positions on the AIA and provide strategy recommendations.

The strategic research and insight team brought deep understanding of the legal, political and technical aspects of the AIA drawing on expertise and research from academia, politics and civil society. As part of this work we:

• Provided political insights for the legislation and recommendations to support the Client’s advocacy strategy.
• Visualised 22 stakeholder’s positions against 45 of the AIA’s most important articles and annexes.
• Identified areas of consensus and disagreement across key policy areas.