How to balance AIs threats and opportunities in the mobility sector: an industry view

For quite some time, AI has made its way into our society. Lately AI seems to be omnipresent especially with the rise of generative AI. However, we still seem to be at the infancy stage of the limitless opportunities AI offers. With the surge in AI applications coming to the market, regulators around the world are under pressure to come up with rules for the ethical, trustworthy, and safe development and use of AI. Recently, the EU presented its AI Act as the world’s first regulatory framework on AI. It introduces a risk-based approach meaning that the AI Act imposes regulatory burdens only if an AI system poses a risk to fundamental rights or safety. Companies falling into one of the designated high-risk categories, must carry out a conformity assessment and comply with a list of requirements. 

AI systems used as safety components in the operation and management of road traffic have been classified as high-risk in the AI Act. AI in Traffic Management today mainly plays an advisory, supporting role by improving monitoring capacities and planning to avoid traffic disruptions. AI applications are principally introduced to make mobility safer, cleaner, and more efficient. We need to ensure that regulation does not hinder innovations that bring important benefits. Imposing obligations on AI providers only because they operate within a high-risk area is not in line with a risk-based approach. Consequently, many non-dangerous AI systems would be subject to a burdensome clearance procedure causing unnecessary delays in bringing new AI systems to market. In this session, a systematic approach for a use case-based risk assessment will be presented from a traffic industry point of view that can also provide inspiration for other sectors.