My First Week at the European AI Office
What is it like to become part of the European AI Office?
Disclaimer: I am not speaking on behalf of the European Commission, this is my personal blog post.
I had my first day at the European AI Office working for the European Commission on the 17th of June. In this way I joined on the first day when it went ‘live’ as described by Director General of DG CNECT Roberto Viola. Here are a few points I carry with me into the second week. I will shorten the European AI Office to ‘the AI office’ for brevity.
- The first thing to note is how bright and fun people in the AI office are. There is a lot of banter and a great vibe. It is hard to describe and must be experienced.
- The view from the AI Office in Brussels is incredible. Especially since I just arrived in Brussels it is nice to see the city from the different angles.
- During my first week I was already included in exciting work, and there were also some interesting developments that took place.
- One notable event was the first high-level meeting of the upcoming AI Board, that took place on the 19th of June.
- The people already in the AI Office are very hard working. Obviously to be able to get the legislation in place and with the variety of policy mechanisms this is necessary, but they are very dedicated (I do not yet say ‘we’ because it’s my first week).
Why did I join the European AI Office?
As an AI policy wonk — concerned with the particular details of the political and legal processes surrounding AI — it is very clear that a lot of global discussions on responsible AI have been dominated by the EU AI Act.
I strongly believe we should work towards more responsible AI, and the approach taken to ensure legal certainty for citizens and in the context of the digital market makes sense to me. The process of the EU AI Act has been exciting to follow from Oslo and it was a dream come true to be able to contribute to this European collaboration. It is highly likely that Norway will adopt the EU AI Act through an annex to the European Economic Area agreement. Hence, it may become law in Norway too.
We want AI to be safe and work in a way that will enhance the lives of European citizens, and I do like the idea that we have certain values or approaches that we consider important when AI is applied here in Europe.
How did I join the European AI Office?
I joined the European AI Office in the European Commission as a Policy Officer, Seconded National Expert to be located within DG CNECT A2 AI Regulation and Compliance. Sent from the Norwegian Ministry of Digitalisation and Governance, under the special agreement for foreign service, and through the agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with the EU.
I went through two competitive national interview rounds in Norway with case work. Then I had to be approved by the Ministry of Digitalisation and Governance as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway. After this I had to be approved by EFTA, and I needed to have an acceptance interview with the European Commission. This whole process from application to being accepted took around 3–4 months. Norway as a nation had decided they wanted to place someone in A2 some time ago, back when the unit had a different name.
It is worth noting that some parts of the AI office are located in Brussels and some in Luxembourg. I joined the office in Brussels.
How is the European AI Office structured?
The following outline was shared on the European AI Office site.
The AI Office will employ over 140 staff, including Technology Specialists, Administrative Assistants, Lawyers, Policy Specialists, and Economists.
Is the European AI Office recruiting?
Yes, the AI Office will recruit talents with a variety of backgrounds for policy, technical and legal work and administrative assistance. You can also sign up to receive updates from the AI Office. For inquiries related to job opportunities you can contact: CNECT-AIOFFICE-RECRUITMENT@ec.europa.eu. However, there has been a call for technical experts and administrative assistants.
What is the AI Board?
The key provisions related to the establishment and tasks of the AI Board are Article 65 and 66 of the AI Act. You can read more in this short press release here:
What are the articles 65 and 66? As written in The AI Act (Corrigendum; Final text after revisions by lawyer-linguists). Here is a summary, please read the full text in the EU AI Act for a more accurate picture.
Article 65 Establishment and structure of the European Artificial Intelligence Board.
- Establishes A European Artificial Intelligence Board (the ‘Board’).
- The Board shall be composed of one representative per Member State. Other national and Union authorities, bodies or experts may be invited to the meetings by the Board on a case by case basis.
- Each representative shall be designated by their Member State for a period of three years, renewable once.
- Member States shall ensure that their representatives on the Board:
(a) have the relevant competences and powers, (b) are designated as a single contact point, (c) are empowered to facilitate consistency and coordination between national competent authorities in their Member State. - The designated representatives of the Member States shall adopt the Board’s rules of procedure by a two-thirds majority.
- The Board shall establish two standing sub-groups to provide a platform for cooperation and exchange among market surveillance authorities and notifying authorities.
Article 66 Tasks of the Board.
The Board shall advise and assist the Commission and the Member States in order to facilitate the consistent and effective application of this Regulation. To that end, the Board may in particular:
- Contribute to the coordination among national competent authorities responsible for the application of this Regulation and support joint activities of market surveillance authorities (with their approval).
- Provide advice on the implementation of this Regulation (especially on general-purpose AI models).
- Contribute to the harmonisation of administrative practices in the Member States (including sandboxes and testing).
- At the request of the Commission or on its own initiative, issue recommendations and written opinions. Including on development of codes of conduct and codes of practice. Also for the review of this Regulation and serious incident reports. In addition for the functioning of the EU database and preparation of the delegated or implementing acts.
So I hope that this was helpful or interesting. If you think so, keep tuned! I will share updates here and on my LinkedIn.
This is also part of my personal project #1000daysofAI and you are reading article 528. I am writing one new article about or related to artificial intelligence for 1000 days. The first 500 days I wrote an article every day, and now from 500 to 1000 I write at a different pace.
