Artificial intelligence
In 2024, the Council of Europe continued its work on an international framework convention to ensure the protection of human rights in the development and use of AI systems. The convention was officially opened for signature on September 5, 2024. It is the world's first legally binding international agreement for AI systems and is open to interested third countries as well as Council of Europe members. Liechtenstein took part in the negotiations and advocated for compliance with human rights and data protection standards and for the agreement to be as global as possible. The country signed the agreement on February 27, 2025, and ratification is still being examined.
In December 2023, the EU adopted the world's first comprehensive legislation on artificial intelligence - the EU-AI Act. The aim of this regulation is to ensure safe, trustworthy and human rights-compliant AI systems. The regulation came into force on August 1, 2024 and will be implemented gradually. The EU-AI Act must be implemented in a binding manner for Liechtenstein within the EEA and requires the establishment of national supervisory structures. The responsible Digital Innovation Unit is involved in the corresponding preparations.
The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), of which the VMA is a member, critically monitored the drafting processes of the Council of Europe Convention and the EU Regulation. In a statement, it criticized the lack of central human rights guarantees. For example, the treaty only contains binding regulations for the public sector, while the powerful private sector remains largely excluded. In addition, AI systems used in the area of national security are excluded from the scope of application. Here, the state would have to take measures at national level to ensure that protection covers all areas. In the EU regulation, the term "human rights" is often only used rhetorically and not in the sense of a normative formulation. This means that the regulation does not specify exactly which human rights are affected and what the risks are that arise from AI. A regulation or guideline would be necessary for this. Finally, ENNHRI criticizes the lack of independent and effective supervisory mechanisms at both national and Council of Europe level.
When implementing the new AI laws, place particular emphasis on the protection of human rights and develop a national regulation that extends European laws to the private sector and national security.