Acno-Pfizer: AI should have a supportive effect on people

“Artificial intelligence – AI – covers almost all areas of life. “For us, it is important that this AI has a human-supportive effect,” said AK Lower Austria Party Chairman and ÖGB Lower Austria Chairman Markus Wieser at the third consumer talk “Artificial Intelligence and Decision – Consumers versus companies?!” from the AK Lower Austria party. “It is very clear for us as representatives of employees: consumer protection and progress are in no way mutually exclusive, but clear rules are needed,” Weser demanded on Tuesday in St. Pölten.

Above all, we need transparency and justice. It's about protecting consumers, “because fake stores created by AI are today almost better than the real ones, and the notorious 'nephew scams' use the real voice of the nephew with the help of AI.” In return, we need clear guidelines and preventive mechanisms to strengthen consumer rights. Weiser concluded by saying that today's event aims to contribute to this.

Expert lectures began with FH Prof. Dipl.-Ingin Mag.a Marlies Temper, Bakk. The Vice President of the Department of Computer Science and Security at St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences gave a presentation on the topic “Algorithmic decision making through artificial intelligence.” The head of the Department of Data Intelligence, Data Science and Business Analytics pointed to the technology behind artificial intelligence. “AI is about making mathematics useful. Algorithms, i.e. 'recipes', are used to calculate probabilities. But AI is never 100% accurate. If my navigation system says: 'Now turn right' and I realize that my car is wider than the alley, “I still shouldn't drive.”

Mag.a Louise Beltzung from the Austrian Institute for Applied Communications ÖIAT spoke about “Artificial Intelligence in Consumer Practice”. Sales are about “predicting” what someone might want to buy in the future. AI-driven personalization and segmentation help companies do just that. “AI computer mice” or AI toothbrushes equipped with health data sensors are currently being offered. However, it is largely unclear whether such AI tools will ever be created.

Dipl.-Ing gave a lecture on “Technical Opportunities vs. Ethical Limits of AI.” doctor. doctor. Eric Brehm. The computer scientist, philosopher and lecturer at TU and the University of Vienna also founded Eutema – an international technology and RTD strategy consultancy. “AI systems are always systems of the past; they are trained using past data. Just because most engineers in the past were men, that does not mean that it is – or should be – that way today or in the future. There is a shift There is a huge amount of power happening. It is a question of who will decide. If you buy a Tesla, Mr. Musk can simply reject it if it violates certain requirements. This means that there is a need to re-evaluate the fundamental changes caused by digitalization and demand minimal rights in the products and services, conducting social discussion and clarifying minimum individual and social standards.

University-Prof. Dr. Nicholas Furgo, Head of the Institute for Innovation and Digitalization in Law at the University of Vienna, gave a lecture on the topic “Towards Regulated Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Perspectives”. Furgo, who is also a member of the Austrian Data Protection Board and the federal government's AI Advisory Board, pointed to the technological leaps in development: from personal computers to social media to artificial intelligence. He pointed out the dangers of using artificial intelligence in more and more areas of life and the legal dealing with the consequences of using artificial intelligence. By the way, like most of the most important technological innovations, ChatGPT did not originate in Europe. Europe has an “AI Law,” but it does not address military use of AI or AI’s energy consumption.

In addition to experts Bieltzung, Timber, Forgo and Prime, MA Daniela Zimmer, digital consumer protection expert at AK Vienna, also participated in the subsequent panel discussion. The focus of the discussion was the opportunities and possibilities offered by artificial intelligence. What was needed was: improved consumer advocates' access to the company's internal algorithms, improved enforcement of existing data protection regulations and reduced Europe's dependence on the clouds of AI giants – primarily in the USA.