World Parliament Act on Ethical Governance and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Technologies

World Parliament Act on Ethical Governance and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Technologies

Preamble

The World Parliament,

Recognizing the profound and transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to address global challenges, foster innovation, and enhance human well-being across diverse sectors;

Acknowledging simultaneously the inherent risks and ethical complexities associated with the design, development, deployment, and use of AI systems, including potential for bias, discrimination, privacy infringements, threats to human autonomy, and misuse;

Affirming the imperative to ensure that AI technologies are developed and utilized in a manner that is human-centric, trustworthy, responsible, and respectful of fundamental rights and democratic values;

Committed to establishing a robust, adaptive, and globally coherent regulatory framework that fosters responsible innovation while mitigating adverse impacts and promoting global cooperation;

Hereby enacts this Act:

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: Title and Scope

1. This Act shall be known as the "World Parliament Act on Ethical Governance and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Technologies" (hereinafter "the Act").
2. This Act establishes a harmonized legal framework for the ethical governance and regulation of Artificial Intelligence Systems within the jurisdiction of the World Parliament, applicable to providers, deployers, and users of AI systems regardless of their location, where such systems are intended to be placed on the market, put into service, or used within this jurisdiction.

Article 2: Definitions

For the purposes of this Act:

1. "Artificial Intelligence System" (AI System) means a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers from the input it receives how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments.
2. "High-Risk AI System" means an AI system identified in Article 7 as posing a significant risk of harm to the health, safety, or fundamental rights of natural persons or to critical infrastructure.
3. "Provider" means any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or that has an AI system developed and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark.
4. "Deployer" means any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body using an AI system under its authority, except where the AI system is used in the course of a personal non-professional activity.
5. "Harm" means any adverse impact on the health, safety, fundamental rights, or economic well-being of natural persons, or any damage to property or the environment.
6. "World AI Ethics Council" (WAIEC) means the independent body established under Article 4 of this Act.

Article 3: Foundational Ethical Principles

All AI systems shall be designed, developed, deployed, and used in adherence to the following foundational ethical principles:

1. Human Dignity and Autonomy: AI systems shall respect human dignity, autonomy, and the capacity for self-determination, ensuring that humans remain ultimately in control and are not subjected to manipulation or undue influence.
2. Non-Discrimination and Fairness: AI systems shall be developed and used in a manner that prevents and mitigates discrimination, bias, and unfair outcomes, particularly against vulnerable groups.
3. Transparency and Explainability: The operation of AI systems, including their capabilities and limitations, shall be sufficiently transparent and their outputs, where appropriate, explainable to affected persons.
4. Accountability and Responsibility: Clear mechanisms shall be established for attributing responsibility for the outcomes and potential harm caused by AI systems.
5. Safety and Security: AI systems shall be designed and operated to be robust, secure, and resilient, minimizing risks of harm, unintended consequences, and malicious use.
6. Privacy and Data Protection: AI systems shall be developed and used in full compliance with global data protection and privacy regulations, ensuring the protection of personal data throughout the AI lifecycle.
7. Environmental Sustainability: The development and deployment of AI systems shall consider their environmental impact, striving for energy efficiency and sustainable practices.
8. Societal and Democratic Values: AI systems shall be developed and used in a manner that supports democratic processes, civic participation, and the common good, without undermining social cohesion or fundamental freedoms.

Chapter II: Governance and Oversight

Article 4: Establishment of the World AI Ethics Council (WAIEC)

1. An independent body, the World AI Ethics Council (WAIEC), is hereby established to oversee the implementation of this Act and to provide expert guidance on AI ethics and governance.
2. The WAIEC shall be composed of a diverse group of independent experts from various disciplines, including AI research, ethics, law, sociology, economics, and human rights, appointed by the World Parliament based on their proven expertise and impartiality.

Article 5: Functions of the WAIEC

The WAIEC shall have the following functions:

1. To develop and issue detailed guidelines, recommendations, and best practices for the implementation of the ethical principles and regulatory requirements set forth in this Act.
2. To monitor the application and enforcement of this Act and to advise the World Parliament on necessary amendments or updates.
3. To foster international cooperation and dialogue on AI ethics and governance, promoting the harmonization of standards and mutual recognition of conformity assessments.
4. To conduct impact assessments and studies on emerging AI technologies and their societal implications.
5. To serve as a central repository for information regarding AI systems, including registers of high-risk AI systems and reported incidents.
6. To promote public awareness and education on AI ethics and responsible AI development.

Chapter III: Obligations for AI Systems

Article 6: Risk Assessment and Management

1. Providers and deployers of AI systems shall establish and maintain a robust risk management system throughout the entire lifecycle of the AI system, proportionate to the identified risks.
2. The risk management system shall include:
a. A process for identifying and analyzing foreseeable risks that the AI system may pose.
b. A process for estimating and evaluating the risks that may emerge during the AI system's lifecycle.
c. The adoption of appropriate risk mitigation measures.
d. The establishment of a post-market monitoring system.

Article 7: High-Risk AI Systems

1. An AI system shall be classified as high-risk if it is intended to be used as a safety component of a product, or if it falls into one of the following areas:
a. Biometric identification and categorization of natural persons.
b. Management and operation of critical infrastructure.
c. Education and vocational training.
d. Employment, worker management, and access to self-employment.
e. Access to and enjoyment of essential private services and public services and benefits.
f. Law enforcement.
g. Migration, asylum, and border control management.
h. Administration of justice and democratic processes.
2. High-risk AI systems shall be subject to stricter requirements, including:
a. Conformity Assessment: Mandatory assessment of compliance with the requirements of this Act before being placed on the market or put into service.
b. Human Oversight: Design and development to allow for effective human oversight, including the capacity to intervene, override, or stop the system.
c. Robustness, Accuracy, and Security: High standards of robustness, accuracy, and cybersecurity, including resilience against adversarial attacks.
d. Quality Management System: Implementation of a quality management system covering design, development, and deployment.

Article 8: Data Governance and Quality

1. Providers of AI systems shall ensure that training, validation, and testing datasets are subject to appropriate data governance and management practices.
2. Datasets shall be relevant, sufficiently representative, free of errors, and complete in view of the intended purpose of the AI system. Measures shall be taken to detect and mitigate biases in datasets that could lead to discriminatory outcomes.

Article 9: Transparency and Explainability

1. Providers shall design and develop AI systems in a way that ensures a sufficient level of transparency to enable deployers to interpret the system's output and use it appropriately.
2. Deployers of high-risk AI systems shall inform natural persons that they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious from the circumstances.
3. Where a high-risk AI system makes a decision that has a significant impact on a natural person, the deployer shall provide clear and understandable information regarding the decision-making process, the factors taken into account, and the means of redress.

Article 10: Human Oversight

1. AI systems, especially high-risk systems, shall be designed and developed to allow for effective human oversight, ensuring that human operators can monitor, intervene, and correct the system's operation.
2. Human oversight shall be appropriate to the specific context, nature of the AI system, and the risks involved, ensuring that the human operator can understand the system's capabilities and limitations and make informed decisions.

Article 11: Accountability and Liability

1. Providers and deployers of AI systems shall be accountable for compliance with this Act.
2. The World Parliament shall establish a framework for liability for harm caused by AI systems, ensuring that victims of harm caused by AI systems have access to effective remedies and compensation, irrespective of the specific nature of the AI system or the degree of autonomy it exhibits.

Chapter IV: Prohibited AI Practices

Article 12: Prohibited AI Systems

The following AI practices shall be prohibited:

1. AI systems that deploy subliminal techniques beyond a person's consciousness or purposefully manipulative or deceptive techniques, with the aim of materially distorting a person's behavior in a manner that causes or is likely to cause that person or another person physical or psychological harm.
2. AI systems that exploit any of the vulnerabilities of a specific group of persons due to their age, physical or mental disability, in order to materially distort the behavior of a person in that group in a manner that causes or is likely to cause that person or another person physical or psychological harm.
3. AI systems used for 'social scoring' by public authorities or on their behalf, that evaluate or classify the trustworthiness of natural persons based on their social behavior or personality characteristics, leading to detrimental or unfavorable treatment.
4. The use of 'real-time' remote biometric identification systems in publicly accessible spaces for law enforcement purposes, except in strictly defined and limited situations, subject to prior authorization by a judicial or independent administrative authority, for the search of specific victims of crime, prevention of a specific, substantial, and imminent threat to the life or physical safety of natural persons, or the apprehension of perpetrators or suspects of serious criminal offenses.

Chapter V: International Cooperation and Harmonization

Article 13: International Cooperation

1. The World Parliament and the WAIEC shall actively engage in international cooperation on AI ethics and governance, promoting the development of global standards and common approaches.
2. The World Parliament shall endeavor to conclude international agreements aimed at fostering the responsible development and use of AI technologies worldwide, facilitating the exchange of best practices, and ensuring cross-border compatibility of regulatory frameworks.

Chapter VI: Enforcement and Sanctions

Article 14: Compliance and Enforcement

1. The WAIEC, in cooperation with relevant national and regional authorities, shall be responsible for monitoring compliance with this Act.
2. The WAIEC shall have the power to conduct investigations, audits, and request information from providers and deployers of AI systems.

Article 15: Penalties

1. Non-compliance with the provisions of this Act shall be subject to effective, proportionate, and deterrent penalties.
2. The World Parliament shall establish a scale of administrative fines, taking into account the nature, gravity, and duration of the infringement, the intentional or negligent character of the infringement, and the number of affected persons.

Chapter VII: Final Provisions

Article 16: Review and Amendment

1. The World Parliament shall, based on a report from the WAIEC, regularly review this Act to assess its effectiveness and adapt it to technological developments and societal changes.
2. The first review shall take place no later than three years after the entry into force of this Act.

Article 17: Entry into Force

This Act shall enter into force six months after its publication in the Official Gazette of the World Parliament.