Abstract

After 37 hours of negotiations, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the member states agreed on the EU AI Act (details of the final wording are still to be worked out). Particularly controversial issues were the regulation of foundation models (LLMs) and the use of AI for facial recognition in public spaces. In both cases an agreement could be found. Topics of our discussion will be both, technical details of the final outcome and also the political process that led to this result.

Panelists

• Kai Zenner, European Parliament
• George Metakides, Digital Enlightenment Forum

Moderator

• Hannes Werthner, TU Wien Informatics

Online Event

Participate online via Zoom, Passcode: 0dzqxqiy The talk will also be live-streamed and recorded on the DIGHUM YouTube Channel.

About Kai Zenner

Kai Zenner is Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for MEP Axel Voss (European People’s Party Group) in the European Parliament. Describing himself as a digital enthusiast, he focuses on AI, data and the EU’s digital transition. Currently, he is involved in the political negotiations on the AI Act, AI liability directive, eprivacy Regulation and GDPR revision. In his individual capacity, he is pushing for reforms within the European Parliament and for bringing back the Better Regulation agenda to EU policymaking. Mr Zenner graduated in political science (M.Sc. at University of Edinburgh, B.A. at University of Bremen) and in law (State Exam at University of Münster). Before moving to the European Parliament, he worked as research associate at the European office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Brussels.

About George Metakides

George Metakides is visiting professor at the University of Southampton, Adjunct Professor at the European University of Cyprus, President of the Digital Enlightenment Forum, and Advisor to several international organizations. He is involved in the analysis of the economic, political and social impact of digitization, related cybersecurity, data protection and regulatory issues and the promotion of international cooperation towards a digital ecosystem respecting shared human values. With a Ph.D. in Mathematical Logic earned from Cornell University in 1971, he pursued an academic career at MIT, Cornell and Rochester University before returning to Greece as Chair of Logic at the University of Patras. Since 1984 he has held senior positions with responsibility for Research & Development policy, funding and international co-operation in European institutions including the Directorship of the ESPRIT program He has contributed to the establishment of international institutions (including the launch of the World Wide Web consortium in 1993), has received a number of awards and honorary degrees and is a corresponding member of several National Academies.

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