AI Accountability in Policy and Regulation seminar

Seminar abstract

This session examines the critical role of accountability in the development and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) within policy and regulatory frameworks. Highlighting the ethical and operational challenges in high risk AI use cases, the discussion underscores the need for robust governance structures and transparent roles as well as decision-making processes throughout the AI lifecycle. Current challenges include undefined roles, responsibilities, and risk assessment protocols, as well as weak inclusion of relevant stakeholders, leading to potential misuse and a lack of consensus on mitigating systemic risks. We will briefly explore key regulatory initiative (EU AI Act), which introduces a risk-based approach to AI regulation, emphasizing transparency, conformity assessments, and fundamental rights impact assessments (FRIA). We will also discuss pilots and tools, such as the Dutch AI Impact Assessment Methodology (IAMA) and its lessons learned in fostering clarity and flexibility for ethical AI development. Additionally, the session will address global AI governance trends, highlighting the interplay between technical advancements and regulatory lag, and the pressing need for harmonized standards to ensure fairness, accountability, and inclusivity in AI systems. This aims to equip participants with insights and frameworks for fostering responsible AI innovation.

Speaker’s bio

Vanja Skoric is a Program Director at the Netherlands-based European Center for Not-for-profit Law, overseeing global and European engagement programmes with over 22 years of experience in legal analysis, research, litigation and strategic campaigning. She leads engagement in digital and artificial intelligence (AI) issues affecting civic freedoms and work on securitisation and counter-terrorism measures that impact civil society. Coming from Croatia, Vanja holds a LLM degree in Public International Law from the University of Amsterdam. She is currently an external PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam Civic AI Lab, Informatics Institute, pursuing interdisciplinary research on inclusive normative design for AI systems. This includes striking the balance between AI development and safeguarding human rights and freedoms, with focus on participatory methods and frameworks for AI. Read her blogpost on civic-ai.nl.