The Bundesrat is slacking AI regulations and coming under increasing pressure

Imagine: you are applying for an open position. However, your application does not go directly to a recruiter, but is pre-checked by an artificial intelligence (AI).

This is a realistic scenario in the near future and it raises many questions: In what cases can AI be used? How does this change processes such as staff recruitment work? And above all: what criteria does the algorithm use to make decisions?

Where’s the problem?

The above questions about future job applications could be addressed in a legal regulation. But in Switzerland there is no specific legal basis for dealing with AI.

According to that Entrepreneurs Association Swicothat represents the interests of companies in the ICT and online sector, is because there are no meaningful points of contact.

There is a “political disorientation” that creates uncertainty and undermines confidence in digitization. Given the “helplessness of state actors”, Swico therefore calls on the digital industry to take responsibility.

The association, which includes more than 700 companies such as Swisscom or Google Switzerland, has drawn up instructions on the “traceability of algorithms”. The goal is that the digital companies themselves make transparent where and how they use artificial intelligence. “Transparency is the foundation of trust,” explains Swico Director and National Councilor Judith Bellaiche (GLP/ZH) to CH Media.

What should change?

In concrete terms, Swico recommends the following steps to make the use of algorithms more transparent:

Huge regulations in the EU, doing nothing in Switzerland

In the EU, politicians are trying, sometimes almost alarmingly, to regulate artificial intelligence where possible. For example, Italy has blocked the ChatGPT application due to insufficient data protection. With the so-called AI law, the EU mainly wants to regulate AI applications that are classified as “high risk”.

In stark contrast to this is the attitude of Switzerland. The Federal Council currently sees “no immediate need for action” regarding the EU’s digital strategy and its own regulations, as it writes in a recently published analysis.

Activism in the EU, doing nothing in Switzerland? The different strategies bite each other. Because the EU measures will also have consequences for Switzerland. The digital space knows no borders. Swiss digital companies operating in the EU must comply with EU law, but are also subject to Swiss law.

Why is this dangerous?

This situation leads to “total legal uncertainty”, criticizes Judith Bellaiche: “But the Federal Council refuses to recognize this.”

The GLP National Councilor is demanding that any legal conflicts that arise must now be looked at and resolved urgently, “otherwise it will be a disaster”.

While Bellaiche sees the Federal Council’s “denial” as harmful, she also doesn’t think the EU’s path is optimal. Their regulatory approaches to artificial intelligence are “impractical and cumbersome” because they are technology specific.

In addition, each AI application must be assessed individually and for the potential risk, although this depends on how and for what purpose the application is actually used.

According to Bellaiche, meaningful regulation would be technology neutral, strive for more transparency and contain ethical principles.

Sources

(aargauerzeitung.ch)