The president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Edson Fachin, stated this Monday, 15th, that the Law should not be subject to the possibilities of using artificial intelligence (AI), but guide it in a way that preserves human dignity.
At the opening of the tenth Civil Law Day, promoted by the Federal Justice Council (CJF) in Brasília, the minister stated that, in a context in which algorithms began to influence processes such as granting credit, circulation of information, selection processes for jobs and formation of reputations, the law is called to “reaffirm its humanist function”.
“It’s not just about asking what machines can do, but what humans should allow them to do,” he said. “The real challenge is to ensure that technology remains subordinate to human values, never the other way around. The machine is a means, the human being remains an end and must remain at the center of any and all moral decisions”, he argued.
According to Fachin, the issue is not related to technological advancement itself, but to the asymmetries generated by the way it is applied: “It is a contemporary manifestation of an old problem that now challenges us. The problem of equality, the undue concentration of power and the opacity of decision-making mechanisms.”
He cited Pope Leo
The president of the Supreme Court stated, however, that taking a technophobic stance would be wrong. “History demonstrates that the Law should not combat innovation. On the contrary, it should welcome and guide it. No algorithm has dignity, no brand has a moral conscience, no machine holds liability, whether civil or ethical. These characteristics belong exclusively to the human person”, he highlighted.
The minister also cited some “increasingly complex issues” to be faced by Civil Law of the future, such as responsibility for automated decisions, protections against algorithmic discrimination, transparency of intelligent systems and the right to human review.
The demonstrations occur amidst the trial, in the STF, of the appeals presented by technology companies against the Court’s decision that expanded the liability of digital platforms for content published by third parties.
The analysis of the embargoes began last week and will continue this Wednesday, 17th, when the plenary must analyze three appeals under the report of minister Luiz Fux. The expectation is that the final writing of the thesis will be completed after this stage.
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Although the ministers accepted part of the requests for clarification presented by companies and entities in the sector, they maintained the understanding that platforms must be subject to broader regulation and accountability mechanisms and set a deadline of 60 days for adaptation, after the end of the trial.
