Vigenin: Europe should develop artificial intelligence without risks to citizens' rights

“When a new technology develops without rules, it turns against people. Now both the other side of the ocean and China have started talking about a crying need for regulation. A global commitment is needed to set out principles, because artificial intelligence is not something you can stop at the border.” This was stated by Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin at the National Forum “Building with Artificial Intelligence: From the Campus to the Smart City”, organised by the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, with the participation of President Iliana Iotova as well as representatives of institutions, local government, business and academia.

Useful applications of artificial intelligence

Vigenin believes that, despite lagging behind, Europe should not copy foreign models, because they will not work. “The time is coming to do much more to encourage useful applications of AI, for example in traffic management, improving road safety and detecting so-called urban heat islands,” he said, giving examples.

In his view, it is precisely the usefulness of these systems that makes the line between their normal use and the surveillance of citizens even more important. “A system can count how many cars pass through a junction, how many people use a particular stop or analyse the temperature in different parts of the city. But the same sensors can be used to establish who these people are, where they are going, whom they meet and how often they visit a certain place. Here we are no longer talking only about a smart city, but about a change in the relationship between those in power and citizens,” the MEP explained.

The European AI Act and risk-based rules

Vigenin recalled that the European AI Act regulates different applications according to the risk they pose to people. As an example of the need for balance, he pointed to the public debate about more video surveillance following the killing of a young man in Plovdiv. “The easiest thing is to say: we will put up more cameras. But the bigger question is why a group of children and young people have reached such cruelty, what has happened with their upbringing, with the family, with the school, with their environment. A camera can record violence, but cameras cannot raise children,” Vigenin noted.

Protecting personal data

The MEP placed special emphasis on personal data. “We cannot turn into walking data that anyone collects somewhere and then uses at their own discretion. Some say that restrictions on personal data hold back progress and innovation, but in the end we must guarantee rules under which people are protected and technology serves people, not people technology.”

Artificial intelligence and the future of professions

The MEP also commented on the future of professions: “We should not necessarily look at the development of artificial intelligence with fear. There will be new professions, many professions will remain the same, just the requirements for them will be different.” As a risk, he pointed to the possibility that, as artificial intelligence replaces entry-level positions in a number of professions, in time there will not be enough trained specialists able to exercise real human oversight over automated systems.

What makes a city truly smart

In conclusion, Vigenin stressed that the qualities of a “smart city” are not the cameras, sensors or algorithms. “We have to look at the result: do people move faster, do we lose less water, are we better prepared for heatwaves and floods, are public services more accessible, but also do we manage to preserve citizens’ right to privacy,” he summed up.