US joins Council of Europe’s AI and human rights framework

Europe’s human rights-centric body opened its Framework Convention on artificial intelligence and human rights, democracy and the rule of law on Thursday, offering nations the option to sign an international treaty to advance the development of standards on how artificial intelligence systems can be used.

Crafted with stakeholder input from the EU, 46 members of the Council of Europe, and 11 non-member states including the U.S., the Framework Convention offers a legal structure focused on combating instances of discrimination resulting from AI system use. Some of the areas the council and participating nations looked to safeguard include gender, race, ethnicity and other potential bases for inequity within a given AI system lifecycle.

“We must ensure that the rise of AI upholds our standards, rather than undermining them,” Marija Pejčinović Burić, secretary general of the Council of Europe, said. “The Framework Convention is an open treaty with a potentially global reach. I hope that these will be the first of many signatures and that they will be followed quickly by ratifications, so that the treaty can enter into force as soon as possible.”

The U.S. is one of the signatories of the Framework Convention, along with Israel, the entirety of the EU, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino and Georgia. 

In keeping with the EU’s proactive regulatory response to the advent of generative AI technologies, the Framework Convention brings more stringent oversight to non-member countries.

“The AI Treaty is historic,” Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Center for AI and Digital Policy, told Nextgov/FCW. “There is now consensus on the need to safeguard fundamental rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the development and oversight of AI systems.”

Rotenberg said that the CAIDP welcomes the endorsement of the Framework by U.S. signatories, though the document will still need to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. 

“As Council of Europe Conventions are open to both member and non-member states, this convention will likely become the first global treaty for the governance of AI,” he said. “CAIDP is urging countries to endorse the Council of Europe AI Treaty. This is critical to ensure safe, secure and trustworthy AI.”

Officials within the State Department told Nextgov/FCW that the convention will help like-minded nations establish a “rights-respecting” standardized approach to AI deployment.

“Our signature of the first-ever Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law in the Council of Europe reflects this enduring commitment and our ongoing work to protect and promote respect for human rights and democratic values,” an agency spokesperson said. 

The Council of Europe, whose role extends beyond the larger EU bureaucracy to bring independent focus on upholding human rights and democratic rule of law, initially adopted the Framework Convention in May 2024. It will enter into effect on the first day of the month after a three month period where five individual signing countries, including three EU member states, have ratified it. 

International cooperation surrounding the standards by which emerging technologies like AI can operate coincides with broader Biden administration policy on regulatory measures. Earlier this year, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced a bill to ensure the U.S. is one of the nations at the forefront of how these standards are developed to ensure its tech sector can compete on a global scale. 

“The Convention is well-aligned with existing U.S. policy, such as the binding requirements for governance, innovation, and risk management of AI systems released by the White House Office of Management and Budget in March 2024, as well as executive orders and policy developed by the Biden and previous administrations,” the State spokesperson said.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to differentiate the Council of Europe and EU.