Recommendations of the Data Ethics Commission

On 23 October 2019, the German Data Ethics Commission (DEC) published its final report with recommendations for European and national policy-makers with regard to algorithm-based decision-making systems (ADM), artificial intelligence (AI) and the handling of data. Drawing from the DEC's recommendations for action, the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) believes that there are concrete tasks for the European legislator that need to be tackled and solved.

AI and ADM are increasingly influencing lifestyles, opportunities for participation, consumer choices and autonomy of individuals, as well as society as a whole. For example, the proliferation of digital assistants can fundamentally change the position of consumers and undermine individual self-determination: Digital assistants are increasingly taking decisions for consumers. The criteria according to which these decisions are made are often opaque. Manipulating consumer decisions via biased rankings is already a reality today on large online market places and comparison platforms. Systems that make phone calls autonomously are already so advanced that people do not always recognise them as machines on the phone. Some systems analyse human emotions in real time and evaluate personality profiles of people.

The recommendations for action presented by the DEC are suitable for minimising the risks of AI and ADM while exploiting the opportunities offered by this technology.