AI Act Impacts on C-NAPSE’s areas of expertise: Inclusion, Talent, Business, and Innovation
AI and Social Impact
With a focus on individuals in terms of digital literacy, according to the European Commission, 45% of Europeans lack basic digital skills (DESI Report, 2023). Elderly, individuals with lower socioeconomic status, and those with lower education levels remain the most vulnerable to AI exploitation and misinformation. There are both risks and advantages of AI being used in social inclusion efforts. Firstly, AI tools can significantly enhance accessibility (e.g., speech-to-text tools helping hearing-impaired populations). However, vulnerable groups face risks from biased algorithms, digital exclusion due to insufficient digital literacy, and manipulation from misinformation.
This urgent need for digital and AI literacy allows for new opportunities where experts, consultants, and educators can step in to protect and guide vulnerable groups facing digital risks, exclusion, and/or manipulation. This is where C-NAPSE comes in to be part of the solution. We seek to foster AI literacy among vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly, unemployed, and disabled citizens, to promote inclusiveness and resilience in the evolving media landscape. By equipping these groups with skills to navigate AI-impacted media, we can help address the digital divide, enabling participants to critically assess and respond to AI-driven disinformation and manipulative techniques. We hope to work in partnership with experts from several EU countries to produce interactive resources, training, and multilingual toolkits that bridge cultural and linguistic divides, ultimately fostering a European-wide community of empowered digital citizens. A project focused on AI literacy could aim to build a foundational understanding of AI literacy among vulnerable populations in Europe, fostering a more inclusive, informed, and resilient digital society. A project like this will not only empower at-risk groups but also pave the way for sustainable, cross-border collaboration in media literacy and digital inclusiveness.
AI and City Innovation
AI offers a powerful toolkit for innovation in cities, fundamentally transforming urban planning, resource management, and the overall quality of life for residents. Firstly, urban systems and resource management can undoubtedly be optimized in terms of energy efficiency, traffic management, waste and water management. This could entail AI powered smart grids analyzing consumption patterns to integrate renewables more effectively, smart buildings making adjustments automatically, and AI driven traffic controls continuously analyzing real-time data for better traffic flow. Advantageously, AI-driven smart city initiatives can reduce urban energy usage by up to 30%, traffic congestion by 20%, and crime rates by 30% (McKinsey Global Institute). If AI, automation tools, and human workers are partnered together, emergency preparedness and response organizations and protocols will be reshaped to amplify situational awareness.
AI implementation on a wide scale necessarily requires proper regulatory frameworks before application by cities to respect and balance privacy concerns, civil liberties, and public safety. AI algorithms can maintain or possibly even accentuate existing systemic biases if the data they are trained on is already biased. The proper regulatory frameworks must ensure equity, transparency, and accountability in AI decision-making and implementation.
AI and Business
The rapid advancement of AI is profoundly impacting both talent and business retention, and regulatory frameworks are playing a significant role in shaping these specific dynamics. The interplay between regulation / trust and competitive advantage is a complex one, influencing where people choose to work, where consumers choose to spend, and where businesses decide to establish or expand their operations.
Regulatory frameworks for AI are emerging as critical factors, influencing both individual choices and corporate strategies. Businesses and individuals are increasingly weighing the benefits of innovation against the imperatives of trust, ethics, and compliance regarding privacy and employment laws. The future of AI will likely see a continued emphasis on striking a balance where responsible and/or ethical AI development and deployment become a source of competitive advantage, attracting both the best talent and sustained business success.
AI and C-NAPSE
Whether AI is being applied within a single business or city-wide, it requires careful consideration and the development of comprehensive regulatory frameworks before its impact can be realized so that it bridges divides rather than deepens them. Here at C-NAPSE we have built AI tools into our past projects and plan to integrate it into future ones as well. AI is here to stay and we know it can be a powerful force for good social and entrepreneurial impact if utilized and applied ethically and methodically.
In one recent and notable use case, as part of the European Commission funded project, A Drone to Promote Equality on Political and Economic Decision Making (Project 101086645 – ProPEGE), C-NAPSE was the technological partner which helped to develop the Equal Leadership Interactive Catalogue featuring its own GPT-powered chatbot called EquiBot. The interactive catalogue includes existing good practices, literature, programmes, and legislation on gender equality within the EU. The AI system embedded helps to facilitate the search for the different resources as well as summaries for insights and analysis in the user’s preferred language. The Equal Leadership Interactive Catalogue has resulted in nearly 1500 active users on 5 continents who have had hundreds of conversations with EquiBot providing complex answers in multiple languages. Favorably, ninety-two percent of users have offered highly positive feedback. For long-term sustainability, the catalogue can be updated regularly with new content featuring novel and future developments for its users to appreciate and utilize in several different capacities and institutional settings.
