The AI Observatory and Forum of the Czech Republic is an expert platform established in accordance with the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Czech Republic (NAIS).
The aim of the AIO&F is to contribute to creation of a favorable social and legal environment for research, development and use of beneficial and responsible AI. The AIO&F shall play an important part in proposing solutions that will ensure ethical approach to AI as well as legal certainty, fairness, security and protection of democracy in the society.
The AIO&F continuously monitors trends in research and developments of AI and their social impact as well as development of legal and ethical rules in the Czech Republic as well as on the international level and in other countries.
The AIO&F primarily analyzes the legal environment, collects ideas from business, academia and public sphere, comes up with recommendations, formulates the best practices and openly disseminates the knowledge.
The particular objectives of the AIO&F are:
- Identification of legislative obstacles for research, development and use of AI and offering recommendations on their removal,
- Producing ethical and legal recommendations for practice,
- Providing space for public debate and sharing the best practice, and
- Involvement of the Czech Republic into the international debate on regulation of AI and data economics through cooperation with foreign organizations.
Activities of the AIO&F are coordinated jointly by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and the Institute of State and Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences within the Strategy AV21 program Hopes and Risks of the Digital Era within the project Center for Innovations and Cyberlaw Research (CICeRo).
The establishment of the AIO&F was recommended already in 2018 within the research report of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic Analysis of the Development Potential of Artificial Intelligence in the Czech Republic (see point 5.3.6).
More details about future activities of the Czech Republic in the area of legal and societal aspects of AI, ethical rules, consumer protection and security issues can be found in Chapter 6 of the NAIS.