Italy’s Council of Ministers on Wednesday gave the green light to two legislative acts aimed at framing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in security forces’ tasks, such as biometric management and video surveillance systems.
“Today, we approved measures regulating the use of artificial intelligence by law enforcement agencies for the first time. The aim is to provide police with cutting-edge tools to improve the effectiveness of their operations,” Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said at a press conference after the Council of Ministers.
In this regard, he emphasized that while AI is not intended to “replace” human judgment, “AI is an important tool to support police work.” Similarly, he argued that “mass surveillance and generalized ‘Big Brother’ systems are not considered, and the use of large biometric databases is prohibited.”
The two laws allow police to use AI systems as long as there is human oversight and their use is subject to a court order. With this regulation, the administration led by Giorgia Meloni intends to incorporate into the Italian legal system an exception already considered in the European Union’s regulatory framework.
Meanwhile, Alfredo Mantovano, undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, stressed that Italy is the “first country” in the EU to adopt a national framework law for the regulation of AI, assuring that the spirit of the Decree is “in line” with the Pope’s latest encyclical.
