From Principles to Practice: The Role of Fundamental Rights and Ethics Assessment in the Review Process of EU-Funded Projects

  • Panel
  • Orangerie
  • Friday 23.05 — 10:30 - 11:45

Organising Institution

European Commission, Research Ethics and Integrity Sector, DG RTD (EU) and Politecnico di Torino (IT)

Europe

  • Academic 3
  • Business 1
  • Policy 2
Regulations on AI pay limited attention to research with the aim of stimulating it and reducing regulatory barriers. However, the increasing use of AI in research projects is moving from technology to societal applications with potentially high impacts on individuals and society. Research ethics and ethical review processes remain the main way to provide safeguards for human-centred AI. This panel will focus on the development of an EU ethical governance framework for AI and highlight the need for a possible revamping of traditional ethical structures and practices in AI research, given the novelty of this set of technologies from a research ethics governance perspective. Ongoing work in this area in Europe will be presented, with a particular focus on concrete advice on how to achieve trustworthy AI research across the innovation ecosystem, including full protection of fundamental rights.

Questions to be answered

  1. What could be the interplay between AI law and ethical assessment in scientific research, for example in neuroethics?
  2. How can traditional ethical structures and practices meet the challenges posed by the use of AI in innovative projects and applications?
  3. How can the protection of fundamental rights be part of the ethical review with an appropriate methodology for FRIA?
  4. What is the expected contribution of EU research institutions in establishing an ethical framework to support researchers in adopting an ethical approach to AI development?

Moderator

Mihalis Kritikos

European Commission, Research Ethics and Integrity Sector, DG RTD - Greece

Mihalis Kritikos is the new Secretary of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) and Policy Analyst at the Ethics and Integrity Sector of the European Commission (DG-Research and Innovation) working on the ethical development of emerging technologies with a special emphasis on AI Ethics and Value Alignment. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Brussels School of Governance (VUB) on digital ethics and rights, digital transition, AI Governance and Values and responsible innovation and author of 2 books in the field of disruptive technologies (Ethical AI Surveillance in the Workplace, Emerald, 2023 and EU Policy-Making on GMOs: The False Promise of Proceduralism, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) Before that, he worked at the Scientific Foresight Service of the European Parliament (STOA/EPRS) as a legal/ethics advisor on Science and Technology issues. He has also worked as a Senior Associate in the EU Regulatory and Environment Affairs Department of White and Case, as a Lecturer at several UK Universities and as a Lecturer/Project Leader at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). He also taught EU Law and Institutions for several years at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) where he obtained a PhD in Technology Law (London School of Economics-LSE) that earned him the UACES Prize for the Best Thesis in European Studies in Europe.

Speaker

David Reichel

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights - Austria

David Reichel is the Head of the Data and Digital Sector at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The Data and Digital Sector, within the Justice, Digital and Migration Unit, hosts most of FRA’s work on artificial intelligence (AI), data protection and online content moderation. David coordinated and co-authored several FRA reports on AI, including the reports on AI and fundamental rights, Getting the future right and Bias in algorithms, as well as on Online content moderation. Prior to joining FRA in 2014, he worked for the research department of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). He has been teaching for several years at the University of Vienna and other universities. He has published numerous articles, working papers and book chapters on issues related to migration statistics, citizenship and human rights.

Speaker

Alessandro Mantelero

Polytechnic University of Turin - Italy

Alessandro Mantelero is Associate Professor of Law & Technology and Jean Monnet Chair in Mediterranean Digital Societies & Law at the Polytechnic University of Turin. He is a member of the EDPB Support Pool of Experts, the OECD.AI Expert Group, and scientific legal expert on AI for INTERPOL and UNDP. He has held visiting and research positions at several universities, including the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, the Oxford Internet Institute, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, the Ada Lovelace Institute, and the Universidad de Murcia. He has advised national governments and various organisations, including the Council of Europe, the United Nations, and the European Commission. His latest books are Beyond Data. Human Rights, Ethical and Social Impact Assessment in AI (Springer-Asser, 2022, open access) and Mediterranean Digital Societies. Law and Technology (Hart Publishing, 2025, forthcoming).

Speaker

Zuzanna Warso

Open Future Foundation - Poland

Zuzanna Warso is the director of research at Open Future, a think tank for the digital commons. She has fifteen years of experience in human rights research and advocacy. Since 2019, she has been an independent expert for the European Commission, participating in the ethical monitoring of EU-funded research and innovation projects. Zuzanna is also a fellow at the Critical Infrastructure Lab at the University of Amsterdam. She holds a PhD in International Law from the University of Warsaw. She is a member of the Women's Rights Group of the Polish Bar Council.

Speaker

Migle Laukyte

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Spain

Migle Laukyte is currently Associate professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Law at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain) and member of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), an independent advisory body of the European Commission. Migle's interests lie in the intersections between law, legal philosophy and ethics on the one hand, and disruptive technologies—AI, robotics, blockchain—on the other hand. She has written on AI and fundamental rights, education, ethics of blockchain, among others. Previously Migle has been doing research in Carlos III University (Madrid, Spain) and European University Institute (EUI, Florence, Italy). She got her PhD from Bologna University School of Law (Italy).