IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 94

Commentary
Commentary
Peace and Prosperity for the Digital
Age? The Colonial Political Economy of
European AI Governance
Emma Carmel
Department of Social and Policy Sciences,
University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, U.K.
 We are not short of alarming accounts of the
global power asymmetries and detrimental environmental,
social, and political effects fostered and
amplified by the production, design, and use of artificial
intelligence technologies (AITs). From " surveillance
capitalism " [66], via the " black box society "
[50], " automated inequality " [22], " algorithms of
oppression " [47] to " extractive politics " [17]; from
the " Californian ideology " [4] of " Big Tech " in Silicon
Valley to the world of start-ups and specialist public
sector contractors, like Palantir and Clearview,
scholars highlight a wild west of disruptive technological
innovation that has gone largely untamed.
The whole globe is embroiled in its production and
effects while the costs of " externalities " are paid by
others: through large-scale environmental degradation
from rare metal mining [17], intensive carbon
consumption [19], underpaid and underemployed
click workers [3], [58], [61], violations of privacy
and data protection [5], [48], and the amplification
of societal biases in automated decision-making (a
useful collection in a 2021 special issue of Fordham
Law Review).
The European Union (EU) Commission's
recent proposal for a regulation of artificial intelligence
(AI Act) [27] appears to signal a change in
approach. Despite worldwide and growing concern
for the need to regulate AITs, efforts remain
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2022.3173340
Date of current version: 14 June 2022.
94
0278-0097/22©2022 IEEE
Regine Paul
Department of Government, University of Bergen,
5007 Bergen, Norway
nascent, abstract, and mostly self-regulatory [32],
[35]. The EU Commission's proposal stands out for
a different approach: more hierarchical, coercive,
and " dissuasive " [27]. It suggests banning some AI
uses altogether (e.g., social scoring), certifying and
risk-mitigating others (most public uses of AITs), and
introducing sanctions1 that are meant to ensure high
compliance rates.
The regulation is unlikely to take effect until 2023
and has already been contested by civil society
organizations, specialists, and the European Parliament
(see [21]). There are likely amendments on
the horizon but these tend toward extending (rather
than limiting) the proposed protections from some
" high-risk " use cases (see [26]).
The overall proposal positions the EU at the forefront
of developing a comprehensive regulatory
approach to AI. Its rather pompous self-proclaimed
aim is to produce and foster " cutting-edge, " yet
" trustworthy " and " human-centered " AITs made in
Europe [24], [39], [49], [52]. It suggests a dual aim
to contribute to more equitable AIT production and
applications through its common market and to generate
future economic growth through ethical AIT
design and development.
In this statement, we explore the narrative surrounding
the AI Act and situate it in a problematic
1It suggests 30 billion Euros or 6% of total worldwide turnover for infringement
of prohibited uses; 20 billion or 4% for other infringements and 10 billion or 2%
for misinforming the competent authorities. The EU Commission describes this
enforcement approach as " effective, proportionate, and dissuasive " (p. 82 of the
proposed regulation).
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022

Contents
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover1
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover2
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Contents
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 2
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 3
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 4
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 5
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 6
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 7
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 8
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 9
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 10
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 11
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 12
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 13
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 14
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 15
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 16
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 17
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 18
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 19
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 20
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 21
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 22
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 23
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 24
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 25
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 26
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 27
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 28
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 29
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 30
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 31
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 32
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 33
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 34
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 35
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 36
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 37
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 38
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 39
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 40
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 41
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 42
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 43
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 44
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 45
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 46
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 47
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 48
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 49
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 50
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 51
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 52
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 53
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 54
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 55
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 56
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 57
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 58
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 59
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 60
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 61
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 62
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 63
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 64
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 65
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 66
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 67
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 68
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 69
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 70
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 71
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 72
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 73
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 74
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 75
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 76
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 77
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 78
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 79
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 80
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 81
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 82
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 83
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 84
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 85
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 86
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 87
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 88
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 89
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 90
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 91
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 92
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 93
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 94
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 95
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 96
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 97
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 98
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 99
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 100
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 101
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 102
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 103
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 104
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 105
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 106
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 107
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 108
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 109
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 110
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 111
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - 112
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover3
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2022 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2013
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com