The
Italian city of Trento has become the first city in the country to receive a
fine for its misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a release
from the Italian Data Protection Authority.
The
authority fined Trento city council €50,000 for the deployment of two artificial
intelligence-driven urban surveillance projects that violated data protection
rules. After an in-depth investigation of the two projects, which were funded by EU, the authority
found “multiple violations of privacy regulations” it said in a statement while
recognizing the municipality acted in good faith. It said the data collected
was not sufficiently anonymous, and that it was incorrectly shared with third
parties.
The municipality of Trento reportedly said it is
considering an appeal of the decision, saying that the actions by the regulator
“highlight how the current legislation is totally insufficient to regulate the
use of AI to analyze large amounts of data and improve city security.”
While Rapid advances in AI across multiple industries,
the Italian government has been proactive in its dealings with the evolution of
AI. In March 2023, Italy became the first country to place a ban on OpenAI’s
popular AI chatbot ChatGPT when it first went viral.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/italy-fines-first-city-privacy-breaches-use-ai-2024-01-26/
