The Spanish Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Works has announced the creation of a Council of Experts on Artificial Intelligence to advise on important aspects of the development, analysis and future of this technology. The council will be made up of nine experts and will be chaired by the former Minister of Universities, Manuel Castells.
According to a press release from the Ministry, the creation of the International Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence coincides with the first activities of the Spanish AI Supervisory Authority (AESIA), which will play a key role in monitoring high-risk AI systems and promoting their use and understanding.
In meetings held between June 20 and 21, the Council held various working sessions. According to the same communication, one of the sessions focused on the importance of data used in AI systems, data protection and privacy. The other session focused on analyzing the risks, both macroeconomic in the labor market and technical, that AI can entail.
In addition to Castells, the council consists of Paul S. Adler, Professor of Management and Organization, Sociology and Environmental Studies at the College of Southern California; Francesca Bria, Honorary Professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, College of London, former President of the Italian National Innovation Fund and expert on digital innovation and policy; Vinton Cerf, considered the father of the Internet and recipient of the National Medal of Technology and the Turing Award, among others; Kate Crawford, Principal Investigator at Microsoft Research, USC Annenberg Research Professor and expert on the social and political implications of AI; and Jerome A. Feldman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the College of California and an expert in computer engineering and cognitive science.
The other board members are Luciano Floridi, Director of the Center for Digital Ethics and expert in AI ethics; Jeroen van den Hoven, Professor of Ethics and Technology at Delft College of Technology and Scientific Director of the Delft Institute Design for Values; Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor at the Institute of AI Ethics at the College of Oxford and author of Privacy is Power; Erika Staël Von Holstein, director of the independent think tank 'Reimagining Europe' and expert on AI and political polarization; and Niklas Lundblad, technology policy and responsible technology expert, global manager at Google and specialist in technology policy analysis and debate.
