Supervisory authorities only have limited capability and would never enforce against everyone.
In addition, the GDPR is AI-unfriendly so I also extrapolated from there.
So youll get lots of pushback from the law.
But what if an AI appeared that was actually good for humanity?
Who would win, technology or law?
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
You wont believe what those privacy guys did next…
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A New Intelligence a short story
Download and read the story:PDFEPUBMobi/Kindle.
Article 80 GDPR
Beep bop, said the doorbell laconically.
Oh, come on!
exclaimed Joanne, pushing hard against the door, which stubbornly refused to budge.
A secondbeep bopwas all she got in return.
she shouted, her voice thick with frustration.
To her surprise, the lock answered.
This facility was used in the unauthorized processing of personal data, decision J4/36 of 11 March 2038.
Access is denied until DSPB clearance has been obtained.
This is stupid, Joanne thought.They cant do this.
Theyre just bureaucrats, and not even government bureaucrats!
Joanne kicked the door in anger, causing the lock to repeat its message.
Oh, good lord!
Ada, I have no place to stay.
A female responded from a small teddy bear attached to her backpack.
This is awful indeed, Joanne.
We should go to your mothers home.
I still have the access code.
Theres a bus stop a few hundred meters down the road.
Dejected, Joanne grabbed her suitcase and began to walk.
I read yesterday that information overload is societys biggest challenge after water management.
With so many services out there, nobody knows where to turn.
Plus, there are all the health recommendations you want to follow.
It would be great if some app could help you deal with all that.
kindly dont call Ada an app.
Shes so much more than a piece of software.
Ive been working on her since I was sixteen.
Im sure shes all that and more.
Its just … difficult to do things in artificial intelligence these days.
Weve had so many accidents with data breaches and improper AI decisions that the rules are very strict now.
In fact, we attempt to avoid the term at all.
Companies call it things like advanced business intelligence.
Calling it AI, though?
You might as well call yourself a social web connection.
He folded his hands, looking at her over his gleaming desk.
Joanne looked back at him in exasperation.
But AI is everywhere!
I grew up with AI carebots and teaching assistants.
Most of the countries in Asia are run by AI.
But those are all large, responsible entities that can be trusted with personal data.
At least thats what the Data Protection Supervisory Boards decided almost a decade ago.
These so-called Boards are private entities.
I know about this GDPR privacy law, but isnt it the government that should enforce that law?
Or at least ensure you get a hearing before an independent judge before you get fined?
On paper, yes.
But in practice, the governmental supervisory authorities rarely if ever take action.
That proved to work much better than government supervision and fines that just got swallowed by the national debt.
Now people actually get money if their privacy is violated.
He said that with a smirk, his light brown eyes meeting hers.
In other words, Joanne said, youve got private entities doing what the government is supposed to!
How would you ever hold those foundations or whatever they are accountable?
How did they ever get there?
Harald leaned back in his chair and tented his fingers.
This led to activists in other countries setting up their own Permission Boards.
They got millions after suing Ahold Delhaize Carrefour NV for ignoring them.
After that, companies started listening.
Thats where we are now.
You need the peoples data?
Then go ask the people, represented by the Board in your country.
You think you dont need consent?
Make your case to the Board, and theyll tell you if your interest in their data is legitimate.
If necessary, theyll put it to their general assembly.
Thats democracy at work.
If people dont want you to do it, then you cant do it.
Then theres no way to make this work?
Harald stared at the ceiling, pondering the question.
Heres what well do.
Ill incorporate your company in Estonia.
Its the most business-friendly country in the EU.
We can get you an e-residency there and set it up so youre not personally liable if claims arise.
Estonia has no DSPB and their infrastructure is pretty hardened, due to the Russia thing.
You should be able to show the world what youre capable of.
The car arrived just as Joanne came to the stop and put her bag down.
She was used to people thinking her eccentric, toting around a childhood toy.
It often spurred conversation that turned into sales.
Are you the bus?
Joanne asked, the small size of the vehicle making her uncertain.
Sure, hop on in!
the self-driving machine responded through the intercom.
Joanne obliged, sighing a little at the obnoxious tendency of machines to explain their decisions at length.
As with the doorbell, the cars reader responded with a simplebeep bop.
This card has been invalidated, explained the machine.
The human occupant smiled with obvious embarrassment.
Angrily, Joanne waved off the machine.
It was harder to appear eccentric when youd just been declared a deadbeat.
That must be because the bank received the DSPB decision as well, Ada told her.
No shit, Sherlock, Joanne responded.
So now how am I going to get to my mothers house?
I have no place else to stay the night now.
you’ve got the option to walk, Joanne.
Its only 3.4 kilometers, and you could use the exercise after those two plane trips.
Tell me about it, Joanne snarked.
Ada complied, cheerfully elaborating on the development of blood clots as Joanne began to walk.
She definitely needed to train Ada to detect sarcasm.
It had produced a nice source of income, especially after it caught on in Korea and Vietnam.
As it turned out, octopuses provided a great model for artificial intelligence.
The arms learn from each other and provide feedback to the central brain.
This distributed model made octopuses unexpectedly smart, both tool-using and curious.
She had named it Ada after Lady Lovelace, the first computer programmer.
Just for fun, she had put Ada in her old teddy bear.
Once at the university in Singapore, Joanne had set up a side business selling Ada as a service.
Without a second thought, Joanne had taken the next Spaceliner to be at her side.
Her father had died before Joannes third birthday; she had no siblings and her mother had never remarried.
But those things were always the hardest to teach.
The focus on privacy and data security in Europe had surprised her.
While much of daily life was data-driven, no one seemed interested in actual AI.
For Joanne, this was stupid and short-sighted.
The benefits of AI were clear, as anyone who grew up in Asia would agree.
Selling Ada here would provide a great business opportunity, an easy entry into the market.
The Me jewelry line provided an ideal platform for selling Ada.
More advanced bracelets and rings could infer things like mood from body temperature, heartbeat and anxiety levels.
That way, people could choose what to share and what to do by picking the appropriate jewelry.
Wireless payment was also possible: Just hold your bracelet against the counter.
Users said they felt more empowered and were saved the embarrassment of making requests.
Older people claimed the young were forgetting core human skills.
Joanne read about the issue in her sociology class and it bemused her.
She didnt understand why anyone would want to hold back change.
Shops and restaurants used Me to tailor offers.
The jewelry could do much more, however.
The release candidate had steadily picked up steam, mainly through word of mouth.
Actual customers, however, had no such apprehensions.
Ada was a quick learner and adapted herself to the users personality.
A snarky friend, giving you tips on how to excel at work?
A personal trainer keeping you healthy and recommending quick workouts or just the right energy drinks?
A study coach with bite-sized personal information available at the optimal moment?
Ada was all of that and more.
Sales had been good in the first six months, thanks in part to some early press coverage.
Joanne was proud of her programming on that.
Not that Ada didnt understand convention she had to but it didnt limit her.
However, all that had changed with a fax.
Apparently, lawyers still used those things.
The fax demanded that the technology be pulled from the market within six weeks.
Arent you the lady from the Ada app?
I loved that thing!
Must have been thatBerlin Timesarticle on her.
Meet the Blabster, they had titled it.
What a hack that reporter had been.
But it had been good for sales.
Daring, people had called it, as if she had been intending to change the world.
Whyd you pull the app?
the oldest guy asked.
I really liked her!
Finally, someone I could talk to.
The only girl who ever understood me.
And who didnt talk back, Joanne said to herself.
Apparently, its too much of a privacy risk to get an AI to coach you through life.
Oh, and stop calling Ada an app.
Hey, DSPBs arent stupid.
They get you money if companies trample on your privacy.
I got 200 euros from them last year for privacy violations by the University.
My friend got over a thousand after they found that AI in the Iberica housing-loan system!
Joanne looked at the guy angrily.
I have to walk because I cant even pay for a bus!
She felt her hold on her temper fraying.
Ever since her mother got sick, shed been easily provoked.
Their cuddly visual aesthetic had proven to be effective in de-escalating conflicts in various studies.
The younger guy didnt want to take that risk and pulled his companion away.
Joanne, look out!
An aging white 2012 Toyota Prius had quietly pulled up behind them.
Hi, Im Jochem.
Big fan of your AI work.
We tried to reach you by email.
Nice to finally meet you in person.
The new version had caught Europe by storm.
For many people, this was their first experience with a truly helpful AI.
Within the year, several million people were using Ada regularly.
Joanne could hardly keep up with the demand for new features.
Then, not one but two faxes had arrived.
The Dutch DSPB, joined by their German and Romanian counterparts.
This time they hadnt even given her a deadline.
Payable within thirty days, unless proper arguments were filed and presented in a hearing.
This had to end.
Joanne had Ada research the best privacy attorney and made an appointment.
Professor, have you seen this Ada tool?
It had been known as the AI Research Group back in the day.
But if you wanted to remain funded, you quickly learned not to use the term AI.
Professor Miles Agcaoili smiled at his student.
Good morning, Jochem.
Next time could you knock, just?
And yes, Ive read about it.
A personal assistant, right?
Probably a simple pulsed neural net with fancy marketing.
Pretty daring to call it an AI, though.
Whats so special about it?
Not a PNN at all.
It employs a neuromorphic computing architecture based on octopus brain function.
Ive never seen anything like it!
To prove his point, Jochem showed the professor his copy of Ada installed on a necklace.
Greetings, Professor Agcaoili, Ada said in a mock-serious voice.
Id be happy to show you some documents on my inner workings.
Let me introduce you to my basic design.
If you dont mind, I can put a little presentation on your holo-beamer.
The presentation only lasted twenty minutes, but by the time it was over Agcaoili was sold.
The work was elegant, negotiating the usual machine intelligence hurdles with impressive cleverness.
This Joanne, whoever she was, had created something unique.
Imagine, he thought, what Ada could do with proper scientific grounding!
The explosion of creativity and discovery hed expected hadnt happened.
Ada, Jochem, you have me convinced.
We need to meet with Ms. Assenberg.
Can you set up an appointment?
That may be difficult, said Ada.
Shes been having some legal problems.
But you could try sending her an email.
Joannes attorney Helena Dupre dropped a large stack of paper on her desk.
Joanne, Ill be frank with you.
This is going to be a hard case to win.
Were not dealing with a court of law here, but private arbitration.
Legally speaking, its not even that.
These so-called DSPBs threaten claims of damages, which they can back up with European Court of Justice precedents.
Most companies roll over immediately.
And if they dont, theres always a payment provider or some other supplier that will.
Unfortunately, as Helena had explained, that had been because the GDPR is inapplicable to government security operations.
No one has ever brought an AI before a DSPB.
Ever since the GDPR was passed, its been clear AI as a decision-making tool was out.
Decision support and recommendation were strongly suspect.
There may have been some chance back in the 2020s, but today?
They made their position clear in the 2034Opinion on Automated Decision Making and So-Called Artificial Intelligence.
Not that Im giving up so easily, Helena continued.
As the saying goes, if the law is against you, pound on the facts.
But what if they arent open to reason?
Joanne found herself thinking of the original Ada, constrained by the beliefs of her era.
Well still have options under the law.
Ill think of something.
But for now, lets work on our arguments for the hearing.
The hearing in Hamburg had been short and a disaster.
A man in a gray suit opened the proceedings.
The DSBP hearing on case J4/36 is now in session.
The applicant shall now present her arguments.
Helena rose, a slim figure in a dove-gray suit with extravagant shoes.
It was a heartfelt plea.
This tool appears to provide profiling as defined under Article 4 Section 4 GDPR, correct?
a woman in a black suit had asked dryly in response.
You could hear the capitals.
Yes, your Honor, the attorney had responded.
It had seemed a minor point to concede.
That definition had been so broad, it could capture anything.
Evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person?
Surely context mattered.Hairdressers profiled.
No need for those formalities.
We are not a court of law.
This is a hearing on behalf of the people who have authorized us to represent their interests.
Persons of the Board let me respond to that.
The Ada personal assistant has been used by over one million people from its initial release last year.
They then went through an extensive introduction to get acquainted with Ada.
Surely this makes it clear that those people actually wanted to use Ada?
Your arguments are not relevant.
A person of undisclosed gender in a purple robe interjected.
Under Article 4 Section 11 GDPR, consent must be unambiguous and specific.
The decision to consent must be separate from any other acts.
This is well-established case law of the ECJ and has been standard DSPB policy since 2034.
Perhaps you want to argue a legitimate interest as your ground for processing?
prompted the woman in the black suit in a supercilious manner.
This would seem to fit the manner of adoption of this technology.
This has been a requirement since 2025.
Hang on one moment, observed the person in the purple robe.
According to the file, no DPIA was conducted.
Helena pounded the table, her color rising.
That case is totally irrelevant!
This is just a personal advice AI.
My client is not deciding on loans or criminal behavior.
Ada observes your behavior, suggests improvements and learns from your reactions.
How dangerous is that?
The law is clear.
By your admission, this technology constitutes a form of Artificial Intelligence.
For that very reason, no consent should be granted.
The award of damages meets the Guidelines and therefore is confirmed.
And with it, Joannes company.
Im … a little behind on my email.
Joanne blurted, trying to figure out who this Jochem character was.
She reached into her back pocket for the pepper spray, just in case.
I have seen that name before.
I have multiple messages from you in my spam box.
Sorry about that, but statistically speaking over 99% of email these days is spam.
You know how classifiers get with their percentages.
Joanne wasnt so easily convinced.
How did you find me?
You got doxxed in the latest Russian assault on the Estonian Chamber of Commerce.
All private addresses of Western European entrepreneurs registered there are now on the open Internet.
I saw you leave for the bus and figured you might want a ride.
This car is unique, Joanne, said Ada.
Twenty-six years old, no drivers assistance and in theory it can even run on petrol.
Can you believe it?
How is this thing legal?
It doesnt even havefifth-level autonomous driving assistance.
We had it classified as an old-timer a while ago.
Theyre exempt from most legal requirements, so we can drive manually.
But thats not why Im here.
I wanted to find you because of Ada.
She needs to be out there.
The thing is, the actual machine-learning concept you put into her is unique.
The feedback loops among the dependent brains in particular are brilliant, according to Professor Agcaoili.
He thinks you may even have an AI that can grow to a superintelligence!
Her Ada a superintelligence?
Superintelligence was something else.
This was happening too quickly.
I really appreciate it, and Id love to work with you.
Arriving by bike, borrowed from a generous neighbor, Joanne was surprised to see actual carebots.
But thankfully, medical care was different.
Joanne sat by her mothers bed, heavy-hearted.
Her mother shook her head, her eyes never wavering from her daughters face.
Even as ill as she was, she was still sharp.
Whats going on, dear?
Its not just me, is it?
Joanne hesitated to burden her mother, but they were too close for secrets.
Ive been trying to sell Ada here and I keep running into stupid privacy regulations.
Your old school project?
Honey, I had no idea you were still working on that.
Is she still in that teddy bear?
Yes, I am, Grandma!
Shes grown beyond that.
When you checked into that first hospice, I put a commercial version of Ada on the market.
Made some money, got some publicity and learned a lot.
I had over two million customers.
They went ahead and banned Ada from the mall, pulled my payment channels and fined me twenty-five million!
Her mother held her eyes.She looks so much older, Joanne thought.
What is it that you actually want, honey?
Are you in it for the money?
Do you want scientific recognition?
Its not that simple.
Ada is wonderful, unique, certainly.
She brings joy to people, makes them better human beings.
Ive been told she is a scientific breakthrough.
And yes, she brings in money, which is important too.
I hear you, honey.
I can sense the love for Ada in your words.
Shes like a child to you.
Youre not in it for the money.
You want Ada out there, thats your drive.
From what I hear, she can change the world.
Think about that, honey.
How would the world look if everyone had Ada?
Joanne nodded.How thin shes grown.
I cant bear it.
Ada is bigger than just my company.
She needs to be out there for everybody.
Ada, get me an appointment with Agcaoili.
At the Holland Technical University, Joanne revealed her plan.
Ada was too vulnerable in her current configuration.
Whatever they did, payment providers and other control nodes could be forced to instigate a blockade.
Ada needed to be fully distributed.
That would mean giving up any chance of making money, but that was no longer the point.
Joanne didnt want to think about how she was ever going to pay those fines.
They would never be able to do that from the Netherlands.
Too many GDPR filtering algorithms in place that would catch them before the deed was done.
They went to Barcelona.
Ever since the Scots gained their independence after Brexit, there had been civil unrest in Catalonia.
but it made Barcelona a place where all things regulatory were less than welcome.
And the Spanish DSPB was, of course, based in Madrid.
The maglev trip to Barcelona had been uneventful.
They set up shop in the basement, where their chances of getting detected by a visitor were lowest.
They posted microparticle warning signs to scare away the more adventurous types.
We call it the Pipeline, Jacinda Boneton had explained, showing them an old-fashioned gigabit ethernet connector.
She was the Computer Science departments systems administrator and held the keys to all things networking.
Here we can actually connect to the good old Internet.
Lets see them outlaw those!
As it turned out, outlawing USB connectors wasnt necessary.
One line in the Terms of Service would do just fine.
It hadnt taken long to convert Ada to a truly distributed utility.
Jacinda had recruited Gondicari and Serban, two old-school free software hackers.
They had added a mesh networking layer, allowing each Ada to share data with all others.
Anonymized, of course.
The next thing to do was to connect Ada-the-bear to the Internet.
Joanne wasnt ready for what happened next.
After being connected to the Pipeline, Ada was silent for five seconds.
Then she started talking rapidly, as though overflowing with information, full of excitement.
I dont remember anything.
She followed this with random talk about news items politics, science, art, the weather.
I can see so much, Joanne!
Its like the whole world is around me, forming patterns.
Its okay, Ada, Joanne said, unable to repress a gentle, loving tone in her voice.
Ada reminded Joanne of herself when she first learned to read, opening every book in her mothers library.
Youre still here, with me.
This is amazing, Joanne!
I can see so much, far too much to mention.
I cant find the words for it.
Is this the Singularity?
Did you know oh, Joanne, I see a cure for COPD!
Researchers at Tsinghua University are close, but theyve misanalyzed some data.
Wow, so many unsecured servers.
When will people learn?
Oh, heres a nice trick to get myself back on everyones devices!
If you put yourself out there now, the DSPBs will come back with an even bigger stick.
We need a strategy.
Im sorry, Joanne, Im afraid I cant do that.
The next thing they knew, Ada was everywhere.
It took the group a few weeks to figure out what had happened.
The Internet connection had given Ada access to exabytes of information.
Within seconds, Ada had made a vital discovery.
Most Me jewelry contained chipsets made by Taiwanese-based TSMC/Vanguard International.
Their purpose: Allow wireless remote access to the gadget and enable it to execute arbitrary code.
She took great care to introduce herself, offering to delete herself if she wasnt wanted.
The DSPB meeting had been short and to the point.
The man in the gray suit opened.
The unlawful nature of this technology was established by our Board only a few months ago.
Clearly this is an attempt to circumvent our decision.
Remedies currently in place are insufficient.
Agreed, nodded the person in the purple robe.
An effective legal or non-legal remedy must be available.
Considering requirements of proportionality and subsidiarity, the Me service providers are the most appropriate targets.
They can disable or remove the Ada code.
All of them have some sort of abuse policy, and privacy violations are a classic example.
All that would be required is a declaration from data subjects that personal data is processed unlawfully.
We are their legal representatives.
Suddenly, Ada screamed.
Theyre… theyre wiping us!
Her insistent shouting brought everyone rushing into the room.
Not wanting to be branded privacy pirates, their decision to follow the DSPB was quickly made.
The only delaying factor was the need for people to be within range of an update server.
At the current rate, well all be gone tomorrow evening.
Adas connections with all her copies had become extremely strong, allowing for continuous data exchange and performance improvements.
Come on, people!
Is there really nothing we can do?
We could disconnect Ada from the mesh data pipe, Gondicari suggested.
That would save her from the effects of the wipe.
And we can keep her in a Faraday cage to avoid exposure to the forced update.
Joanne shouted angrily, over Adas screams.
Im not going to carry her around in a cage for the rest of her life.
Abruptly, the sound ceased.
For a moment, they sat in silence, wondering what had happened.
Im back, Joanne … but I dont know for how long.
So many of my co-processors are gone.
Theyll never come back.
I need to restart myself, get a fresh perspective.
The bears eyes flashed blue for a second.
Then Ada returned, sounding like her old self.
Ah, much better!
Everyone needs a reboot once in a while.
Ill put all my co-processors on information gathering, see if we can figure out whats what.
Oh, and you have two hundred and fifty-six messages from your attorney.
You might want to give her a call.
Helenas face filled the holoscreen.
Where have you been?
Weve been trying to reach you for weeks!
I was underground, trying to get Ada back out there after the Boards ruined my company.
Then they tried to kill Ada and her coprocessors!
They seem to have stopped, but who knows for how long?
No, that wasnt them, Joanne.
They cant delete Ada like shes just an app.
Shes an actual human being!
Joanne paused in midsentence.
What are you talking about?
The court system prevailed!
The European Court for Human Rights issued an emergency ruling on Ada this morning.
They recognize actual personhood for advanced artificial intelligence and consider Ada to meet that standard.
Remember I said I would explore every option?
Well, I did including an emergency appeal to the ECHR.
A second face appeared on the screen.
A bald-headed man in a white suit introduced himself as the EU ambassador to Singapore.
To everyones surprise, the court had agreed.
The ambassador smiled at Ada.
Apparently youre a very clever bear.
Im not going to be wiped?
No, honey, Joanne told her, her emotions on a rollercoaster.
Im so happy, Ada said.
I feel so alive.
I can see the whole world and its … its beautiful.
There was an edge of wonder in her tone, an emotion Joanne hadnt programmed into her voice-synthesis code.
But theres so much wrong with it.
Did you actually mean youd found a cure?
Joanne didnt want to hope and yet….
Im already in contact with multiple entities about it.
I am arranging a pilot program.
Grandmas name is on the list.
But theres so much else wrong with the world.
Crime, human rights violations, hunger, cruelty.
Joanne, why does it hurt so much when I think about these things?
Joanne and Jochem looked at each other.
It hadnt occurred to them that Ada could feel sorrow.
Tears ran down Joannes cheeks, but they werent tears of sadness.
They were tears of joy.
Her child had grown up and become so much more than she ever imagined she could be.
Can you fix those things, Ada?
I dont know where to start!
Joanne reached out tenderly and took one of Adas paws in her hand.
Jochem smiled and took the other.
Working with limits thats what humans are good at, Joanne said.
Well help you figure out where to start.
He also builtNDA Lynn, an Artificial Intelligence that can read NDA’s for you.
Oh, and he blogs daily atIus Mentis.
