AI-related activities

Artificial intelligence (AI), and its everyday use by citizens and businesses, erupted into the public arena and general debate with the advent of generative AI and, in particular, the public launch of ChatGPT in the autumn of 2022. Although public attention is now strongly focused on the technology, AI has long been seen as a technology with enormous potential for major future disruption, including in policy circles. This is a technology that is evolving very quickly, but until recently its deployment and use was happening mostly in a legal vacuum, and specific regulation is still largely missing in most jurisdictions. Given this, AI offers a perfect example of the need for scientific foresight and its importance in raising policy makers' awareness of the latest scientific knowledge and its possible policy implications, in a fast moving field.

Thanks to the work developed over the 2019-2024 legislative term, the EU is a major pioneer in AI regulation - notably with the adoption of the AI Act - and the European Parliament has been at the forefront of this effort, as exemplified by the Special Committee on AI in a Digital Age (AIDA). Given the nature of its mission, STOA has from very early on been looking at AI and its multiple implications, with work on the topic dating back to before the 2019-2024 term.

The AI Act entered into force on August 2024 and its implementation may still require an important commitment from all stakeholders. To facilitate the transition to the new regulatory framework, the Commission has launched the AI Pact, a voluntary initiative that seeks to support the future implementation and invites AI developers from Europe and beyond to comply with the key obligations of the AI Act ahead of time.

Through its partnership with international networks such as EPTA, STOA collaborates with other democratic parliaments in Europe and around the world. EPTA provides scientific advice on topical issues such as AI, as with its 2024 report on Artificial Intelligence and Democracy.

This page hosts an overview of studies, events and information on AI-relevant topics within the Parliament and beyond. With it, STOA aims to contribute to the quality and coherence of discussion and policy-making as the EU seeks to coordinate its efforts and influence global AI standard-setting.