Council of Europe: Finalised Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Framework Convention including testing requirement

On 15 March 2024, the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) of the Council of Europe finalised the 'Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Framework Convention', which includes testing requirements. The document aims to ensure that the principles and obligations for the design, development, use and decommissioning of artificial intelligence (AI) systems are consistent with the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Regarding testing requirements, the document's signatories would commit themselves to providing a controlled regulatory environment for the testing of AI systems. Further, signatories would take measures to identify, assess, and mitigate risks to human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, which, among other things, would require, in appropriate cases, prior testing of systems before they are made available for use.