Anexo III – Intervenção do Deputado Francisco Rocha (PS) sobre inteligência artificial (inglês)

Draft speech for Hon. Francisco Rocha

Member of the Delegation of the Assembleia da República to PAM

Session of the 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue among Civilisations and Human Rights

Report and Recommendation on «Protecting Human Rights in an increasingly automatised world:

Artificial Intelligence, opportunities for parliamentarians», presented by Hon. Marianne Amir Azer

(Egypt)

Dear colleagues,

I am taking part in this debate in place of my colleague, Hon. Joana Sá Pereira, who is unable to

attend this meeting, but has asked me to take the floor in her place to make some notes on this

matter.

I would like to start by congratulating Hon. Marianne Amir Azer for this excellent Report addressing

the delegates’ call for action on this important topic at the 14th PAM Plenary Session held in Athens

last year.

In a pandemic like COVID-19, technology, artificial intelligence, and data-based science became

critical in helping societies deal with the outbreak.

Teleworking, communications, apps, testing, vaccine development, hospital equipment and even

street disinfection and monitoring with drones have shown the enormous potential and development

of technological means, but also humanity’s great deal of dependence on technology today.

But what is the price to pay?

Artificial intelligence has been developed in all areas: applications, advertisements, social networks,

virtual assistants and even smart cars that interact with us by tracking information to become more

appealing. This type of interaction can pose risks to human rights for its social, ethical, and legal

implications, not only for individuals but also for society and democracies.

Technologies are built by organisations, such as specific companies, which replicate social patterns

and influence society in that sense. For all this, one of the biggest risks posed is the violation of

privacy and data protection.

Sensitive information about race, religion, sexual orientation, or political positioning can be

processed in a discriminatory way, promoting criminality, terrorism, and excluding groups from

society.

Freedom of expression can be highly affected when social media content is automatically removed

and subject to «super blocking» systems. Democratic acts, such as elections, may no longer be

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