C 15/36
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
12.1.2022
Wednesday 19 May 2021
27.
Calls for independent audits to be conducted regularly to examine whether the AI applications being used and the related checks and balances are in accordance with specified criteria, and for those audits to be supervised by independent and sufficient overseeing authorities; calls for specific stress tests to assist and enforce compliance;
28.
Notes the benefits and risks of AI in terms of cybersecurity and its potential in combatting cybercrime, and emphasises the need for any AI solutions to be resilient to cyberattacks while respecting Union fundamental rights, especially the protection of personal data and privacy; stresses the importance of monitoring the safe use of AI and the need for close collaboration between the public and private sectors to counter user vulnerabilities and the dangers arising in this connection; calls on the Commission to evaluate the need for better prevention in terms of cybersecurity and mitigation measures thereof;
29.
Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic crisis can be considered as a probation period for the development, deployment and use of digital and AI-related technologies in education and culture, as exemplified by the many online schooling platforms and online tools for cultural promotion employed across the Member States; calls on the Commission, therefore, to take stock of those examples when considering a common Union approach to the increased use of such technological solutions;
Education
30.
Recalls the importance of strengthening digital skills and achieving a high standard of media, digital and information literacy at Union level as a prerequisite for the use of AI in education; underlines the need, in this regard, to ensure Union-wide digital and AI literacy, in particular through the development of training opportunities for teachers; insists that the use of AI technologies in schools should help to narrow the social and regional digital gap; welcomes the Commission’s updated Digital Education Action Plan, which addresses the use of AI in education; calls on the Commission, in that regard, to make digital capabilities, media literacy and training and AI-related skills the priorities of this plan, while raising awareness about the potential misuses and malfunctioning of AI; calls on the Commission, in that connection, to place special emphasis on children and young people in precarious situations, as they need particular support in the area of digital education; urges the Commission to duly address AI and robotics initiatives in education in its forthcoming AI legislative proposals; urges the Member States to invest in digital equipment in schools, using Union funds to this end;
31.
Highlights that the use of AI in education systems brings a wide range of possibilities, opportunities and tools for making it more innovative, inclusive, efficient and increasingly effective by introducing new high-quality learning methods that are quick, personalised and student-centric; stresses, however, that as it will impact education and social inclusion, the availability of such tools must be ensured for all social groups by establishing equal access to education and learning and leaving no one behind, especially people with disabilities;
32.
Underlines that in order to engage with AI both critically and effectively, citizens need at least a basic understanding of this technology; calls on the Member States to integrate awareness-raising campaigns about AI in their actions on digital literacy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote digital literacy plans and forums for discussion to involve citizens, parents and students in a democratic dialogue with public authorities and stakeholders concerning the development, deployment and use of AI technologies in education systems; stresses the importance of providing educators, trainers and others with the right tools and know-how with regard to AI and related technologies in terms of what they are, how they are used and how to use them properly and in accordance with the law, in order to avoid IPR infringements; highlights, in particular, the importance of digital literacy for people working in the education and training sectors and of improving digital training for the elderly, bearing in mind that the younger generations already have a basic notion of these technologies, having grown up with them;
33.
Stresses that the real objective of AI in education systems should be to make education as individualised as possible, offering students personalised academic paths in line with their strengths and weaknesses and didactic material tailored to their characteristics, while maintaining educational quality and the integrating principle of our education systems;