Panel Discussion: Navigating AI’s Labyrinth: Ethical and Legal Threads

Danila Petrelli moderated a panel on the EU AI Act, two weeks after the European Parliament approved it, and on the ethical questions around it.

Charlotta Kronblad, University of Gothenburg, outlined the Act’s risk-based categories and noted that courts, whose judges often lack technical knowledge, will shape how it is applied. Daniel Gillblad, Recorded Future, argued that the Act starts from a technology rather than from the consequences to be prevented, that uncertainty slows innovation, and that questions such as the right to one’s own likeness deserve regulation in their own right. Julia Lemonte, AstraZeneca, described building AI governance since 2020 without knowing the final text: an inventory of AI systems with their context and risks, processes flexible enough to change, and risk assessments for AI bought from third parties. Sara Wrige, Church of Sweden, asked for risk assessment in public debate in place of enthusiasm or fear, and for listening to the concerns of people outside the field. Jair Ribeiro, Volvo Group, called for clear rules for developers and expected Europe to stay competitive.

Questions from the audience covered legal personhood for models, jobs lost to automation, and contracts for shared data.