Spain launches AI supervisory agency

The Council of Ministers gave the green light to a Royal Decree approving the statute of the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (Agencia Española de Supervisión de la Inteligencia Artificial, or AESIA), the result of the joint work of the Ministry of Finance and Public Function and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. The AESIA will have its headquarters in A Coruña, specifically in the La Terraza building in the Méndez Núñez gardens.

Last June, the Government “urgently” approved the processing of the draft royal decree for the creation of the AESIA.

With its implementation, Spain becomes the first European country to have a body of these characteristics and anticipates the entry into force of the European Artificial Intelligence Regulation. Said regulation will establish for the Member States the obligation to select a national supervisory authority that is in charge of supervising the application of the regulations on Artificial Intelligence. The AESIA is attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through the Secretary of State for Digitisation and Artificial Intelligence.

According to the Executive, “the advancement of technology is unquestionable at a global level.” In the specific case of Spain, “digital transformation is a priority in the Government’s line of action, as reflected in the 2026 Digital Agenda”. This Strategy includes different strategic plans, including the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA), which aims to provide a reference framework for the development of an “inclusive, sustainable and citizen-focused” Artificial Intelligence. In addition, this strategy is one of the measures of Component 16, Reform 1 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), which aims to position Spain as a leading country in AI.

The EU is currently preparing the world’s first set of general rules to manage AI opportunities and threats. The goal is to make the EU a trusted global AI hub.

The EU AI Roadmap

On June 14, 2023, the European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the AI ​​law. Parliament’s priority is always to ensure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly.

Parliament also wants to establish a technologically neutral and uniform definition of AI so that it can be applied to future AI systems. The AI ​​Law establishes different rules for its different levels of risk.

To analyse the future impact of artificial intelligence in the digital age on the Union’s economy and in preparation for the Commission’s legislative proposal, Parliament already has a special committee on artificial intelligence.

The final report of this commission, which the plenary session approved in May 2022, includes a proposal for an EU roadmap for artificial intelligence. It is a holistic approach to a long-term common position that underlines the EU’s key AI-related values ​​and objectives.

Parliament approved on October 20 three reports that study how to regulate artificial intelligence to promote innovation, respect for ethical standards and trust in technology.

On January 20, 2021, Parliament proposed guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence in the military and civilian sectors. In the military field, as well as in health and justice.

MEPs stressed the need for human control over AI systems and weighed in on Parliament’s demand to ban AI-enabled lethal autonomous weapons.

The development of artificial intelligence also depends on an effective European data strategy. Parliament approved the proposal on data legislation on March 25, 2021.

Parliament adopted on May 19, 2021 a report on the use of artificial intelligence in education, culture and the audiovisual sector, in which it demands that artificial intelligence technologies be designed in a way that prevents gender bias, social or cultural and protect diversity.

On October 6, 2021, MEPs called for strong guarantees in the police use of artificial intelligence. Specifically, they urged a permanent ban on automatic recognition systems in public spaces, prevent discrimination, and called for algorithms to be transparent.

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