Category: Innovation & Technology

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A digital ID and personal digital wallet for EU citizens, residents and businesses

Logo Eu Digital Indentity Wallet

EU Digital Identity Wallets will provide a safe, reliable, and private means of digital identification for everyone in Europe. Every Member State will provide at least one wallet to all its citizens, residents, and businesses allowing them to prove who they are, and safely store, share and sign important digital documents.

The European Union’s response to digital identification challenges

Identification is how we prove who we are; think of your ID or driver’s license. With more and more private and public services becoming digital, a safe, reliable, and privacy enhancing means of digital identification is needed for everyone in Europe.

EU Digital Identity Wallets are the European Union’s response to the challenges of digital identification. Every EU Member State will offer its own wallet app, built to the same specifications, to all citizens, residents and businesses in the next few years. Each version of the wallet will be interoperable and will work wherever you are in Europe. Continue reading “A digital ID and personal digital wallet for EU citizens, residents and businesses”

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Call for strategic investment in AI infrastructure

Ai 2024

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is urging the European Union to boost its investment in secure connectivity, resilient infrastructure, and supply chains to ensure it stays competitive in the rapidly evolving field of general-purpose AI (GPAI). These measures are seen as essential in maximising the benefits of generative AI in line with European values, needs, and fundamental rights.

In its exploratory opinion on Artificial intelligence/the way forward, in which it focuses on the key aspects of GPAI, the EESC stresses that the dynamism and complexity of AI require ongoing updates to the EU’s AI Act. This adaptability is necessary to create a trustworthy AI environment that reflects the EU’s fundamental rights and values.

While GPAI models are largely technical and apply predominantly in the business-to-business (B2B) sector, their indirect impact on workers and consumers cannot be overlooked. This is why the EESC recommends organising dialogues with key stakeholders, including representatives of employers’ organisations and trade unions, to raise awareness about GPAI and address concerns about workplace codes of practice and workers’ rights. Continue reading “Call for strategic investment in AI infrastructure”

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Integrating AI in the EU public services

Ai2

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has adopted an opinion that aims to safeguard citizens’ fundamental rights in the midst of the implementation of AI technology in public services.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more widespread in society and the digital transition has changed ways of working – including the organisation of work itself. These changes have a significant impact on society, the economy, production and work. Though the development of AI contains potential benefits, it nevertheless raises concerns about the effects it could have on employment levels and working conditions.

Public services are also impacted by this new technology and there are already several cases of public services in the EU using AI. Though AI offers (among others) the possibility to automate complex and repetitive processes and help make public services more accessible to citizens, generative and predictive AI algorithms may (if unchecked) lead to bias. Continue reading “Integrating AI in the EU public services”