Artificial Intelligence: How Do We Protect Consumer Rights in AI Applications?
Artificial intelligence has many useful applications that range from industrial production to entertainment and from ecommerce to smart home appliances. But for all the potential benefits AI offers to consumers, it is also important to not lose sight of its impact on our human and consumer rights.
AI on the agenda
European institutions are paying close attention to AI developments and to steering these developments in the right direction. The Council of Europe describes the crucial commitment to ensuring that human rights are strengthened and not undermined by artificial intelligence:
“AI-driven technology is entering more aspects of every individual’s life, from smart home appliances to social media applications, and it is increasingly being utilised by public authorities to evaluate people’s personality or skills, allocate resources, and otherwise make decisions that can have real and serious consequences for the human rights of individuals. Finding the right balance between technological development and human rights protection is therefore an urgent matter.”
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, too, is focusing on AI challenges. With a positive approach, the agency reports on the importance of tackling bias in algorithms to prevent possible discrimination. Meanwhile, the European Commission has taken important steps by proposing the Artificial Intelligence Act in April 2021. This first ever regulatory framework for AI aims to turn the EU into a global hub for trustworthy artificial intelligence.
As part of the European Commission, the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT) will work to improve our understanding of how algorithms work. ECAT experts will cooperate with industry representatives, academia and civil society organisations. Together they will analyse transparency, assess risks and propose new transparent approaches to contribute to a trusted online environment for everyone.
AI and consumer rights
Consumers can benefit from AI technologies, which offer them new features and can help them search for offers that meet their needs. But consumer organisations like the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) are also raising concerns, for example about privacy protection and unfair commercial practices. Are consumer rights being respected when algorithms fix prices or exploit personal consumer information to drive purchasing decisions?
To work towards artificial intelligence systems Europeans can trust, experts, companies, public authorities and civil society should cooperate to discover potential issues and measures to mitigate these issues. A first step is therefore to observe, understand and discuss. Below are some of our brainstorm points for what will hopefully become a fruitful dialogue about balance and protection.
Considerations
- Consumers should always have the right to information. They should be made aware when an algorithm is using their personal information to provide offers for goods and services, uses this data to make a decision or reports this data to third parties. Personal information could include data on purchasing behaviour, or data related to the consumer’s health, emotions or finances.
- Consumers should always be allowed to request human intervention if they are unsatisfied with the outcome of an AI-based complaint handling system.
- Resources such as full documentation, tests, datasets and data prediction tools should be made more available and accessible. This is needed for an evidence-based assessment of the algorithm.
- Deployers and users should collaborate in conducting a fundamental rights and consumer rights impact assessment.
- Legislation measures need frequent adaptation, given the quick evolving of technology and use cases, which pose new challenges.
- Codes of conduct may be useful for self-regulation in fields which are not yet regulated by norms.
- Awareness campaigns should address consumers, companies and policy makers.
More on the digitalisation of consumer markets
In November 2022, ECC-Net published a position paper on digital fairness. The paper includes perspectives on artificial intelligence in chatbots and dark patterns.