Europe adopts first “binding” treaty on AI

The Council of Europe officially opened its new artificial intelligence treaty for signatories on Sept. 5. The Council is billing its treaty – called the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law – as the “first-ever international legally binding treaty” aimed at making sure AI systems are consistent with international legal standards.

The US, UK, Vatican, Israel, and the European Union have already signed the framework. While the Council of Europe is a separate body that predates the EU, its treaty comes months after the EU passed its AI Act. The treaty has some similarities with the AI Act, including a common definition of AI, but it is functionally different.

Mina Narayanan, a research analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, expressed skepticism about the new treaty’s effectiveness. She said the treaty is “light on details and reiterates provisions that have already been discussed in international fora.” That said, she found the treaty’s attempts to give some legal recourse for harm done by AI systems — including mechanisms to lodge complaints and contest decisions made by AI — somewhat novel.

But Nick Reiners, a senior geo-technology analyst at Eurasia Group, said the treaty isn’t especially binding, despite how it’s billed, since it requires parties to opt in. That’s a measure, he noted, that the UK and US lobbied for as they wanted a “lighter-touch approach.” Further, he said that carveouts from the treaty water down how strenuous it is, particularly regarding AI use for national security purposes. That makes Israel’s willingness to participate unsurprising since the treaty wouldn’t cover how it’s deploying AI in the war in Gaza.

Reiners said that despite its lack of involvement in creating this treaty, the EU would like to use it to “internationalize the AI Act,” getting companies and governments outside the continent in line with its priorities on AI.

While the treaty isn’t groundbreaking, “it shows how the Western world, in a broader sense, is continuing to expand the international rules-based framework that underpins the respect of human rights and the rule of law,” he said, “and this framework now takes account of AI.”