European AI and Society Fund – AI Accountability Grants

The funding is for ‘bold, adventurous’ projects that explore how to hold those responsible to account for harms caused by the use of AI in Europe. Projects should seek to identify clear opportunities to address the negative impacts of AI systems on people and society in Europe.

The current path of AI adoption is set to worsen inequality, increase social injustice, and threaten people’s rights.

Challenges include:

• Weak protections: algorithmic management systems can undermine gig workers rights while consumer products that use AI can cause privacy invasions.
• State abuse: using AI driven surveillance systems in areas such as policing, migration and welfare can violate people’s rights.
• Market power: Big tech companies dominate AI. This creates a chokehold on AI development, stifles innovation and gives companies huge economic and political power.
• Bad information: poor quality and misleading content created and spread by AI to serve social media’s business model hurts democratic debate.
• Worsening inequalities: AI systems intensify human biases and deepen inequalities such as racial and gender injustice.
• Climate impacts: AI needs vast amounts of energy and water to run, it uses critical minerals and emits large amounts of CO2, working against climate goals and land rights of indigenous communities.