Preprint: AI Literacy in the AI Act
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are ever more embedded in our daily lives, shaping the way we learn, work, communicate, and access both public and private products and services. This is often perceived as holding the potential to automate tasks and deal with information in a way that exceeds human capacity. However, the pervasive deployment of AI systems in our society can profoundly influence the rule of law, democracy and the realization of human rights. In many situations, interacting with AI systems is no longer an individual choice, but rather a gateway to essential services such as education, social benefits or border control. Knowing, understanding, and having adequate skills to critically assess and use AI systems is, therefore, not only a personal, but a civic necessity. Recognizing this societal imperative, the AI Act explicitly acknowledges the importance of equipping citizens with the knowledge, understanding and skills to engage with AI systems in their daily lives and define clear obligations for providers and deployers of AI systems in its Article 4.
In this chapter, Elora Fernandes and Abdullah Elbi explore AI literacy as it is framed within the regulation, identify possible gaps and propose recommendations.
This is a preprint chapter for an upcoming book edited by Jan De Bruyne, Laura Drechsler and Charlotte Ducuing at the KU Leuven Centre for IT & IP Law (CiTiP).