Warning against impending watering down of EU AI Act
The TU Wien DigHum Team writes:
Dear colleague,
We ended our last communication entitled “In defense of Dignity and Independence” with a reference to one of the core messages of Digital Humanism: technology should not be developed in accordance with the interests of a few companies of a few countries, but for the benefit of all.
It is therefore with deep gratification that we saw this and related key messages of Dighum reflected boldly in the speech of Pope Leo XIV calling for fresh critical thinking in the age of AI leading to a new humanism that encompasses ethics and AI technologies, a Digital Humanism (Umanesimo Digitale).
The Dighum community congratulates the Pope for this strong, clear and inspiring message which firms up our commitment to work towards achieving our shared Dighum goals.
The Pope also made reference to the need for regulation and boundaries for AI, a position which we also share and based on which we acted on behalf of civil society by submitting a petition to the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee in July 2025. Via this petition we ask that the European Institutions stand firmly against the open and public pressure by the Big Tech companies and the US government.
The alarming news came in the form of the announcement that on November 19th, the European Commission will present a proposal for revising and/or postponing important segments important segments of the European digital regulation and the AI Act in particular.
We will of course examine carefully the EC’s proposals to be unveiled on November 19th. At the same time, we must be prepared to act if these proposals amount to a watering down and postponing key parts of the AI Act (and thus leaving people exposed unnecessarily to the risks of AI) as a result of the relentless lobbying and political pressure.
We note that once published, the Commission’s proposals will have to be approved by the European Parliament and the European Council.
Concerning the EP, we have already taken contact with the Petitions Committee which had supported unanimously our petition as well as MEPs from other pertinent committees and are getting ready for coordinated (with other civil society organizations and the EP) and effective actions if and when our fears are confirmed to be justified
Best regards,
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