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Article 68 Scientific Panel of Independent Experts

Article 68

Scientific panel of independent experts

1.   The Commission shall, by means of an implementing act, make provisions on the establishment of a scientific panel of independent experts (the ‘scientific panel’) intended to support the enforcement activities under this Regulation. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 98(2).

2.   The scientific panel shall consist of experts selected by the Commission on the basis of up-to-date scientific or technical expertise in the field of AI necessary for the tasks set out in paragraph 3, and shall be able to demonstrate meeting all of the following conditions:

(a)

having particular expertise and competence and scientific or technical expertise in the field of AI;

(b)

independence from any provider of AI systems or general-purpose AI models;

(c)

an ability to carry out activities diligently, accurately and objectively.

The Commission, in consultation with the Board, shall determine the number of experts on the panel in accordance with the required needs and shall ensure fair gender and geographical representation.

3.   The scientific panel shall advise and support the AI Office, in particular with regard to the following tasks:

(a)

supporting the implementation and enforcement of this Regulation as regards general-purpose AI models and systems, in particular by:

(i)

alerting the AI Office of possible systemic risks at Union level of general-purpose AI models, in accordance with Article 90;

(ii)

contributing to the development of tools and methodologies for evaluating capabilities of general-purpose AI models and systems, including through benchmarks;

(iii)

providing advice on the classification of general-purpose AI models with systemic risk;

(iv)

providing advice on the classification of various general-purpose AI models and systems;

(v)

contributing to the development of tools and templates;

(b)

supporting the work of market surveillance authorities, at their request;

(c)

supporting cross-border market surveillance activities as referred to in Article 74(11), without prejudice to the powers of market surveillance authorities;

(d)

supporting the AI Office in carrying out its duties in the context of the Union safeguard procedure pursuant to Article 81.

4.   The experts on the scientific panel shall perform their tasks with impartiality and objectivity, and shall ensure the confidentiality of information and data obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities. They shall neither seek nor take instructions from anyone when exercising their tasks under paragraph 3. Each expert shall draw up a declaration of interests, which shall be made publicly available. The AI Office shall establish systems and procedures to actively manage and prevent potential conflicts of interest.

5.   The implementing act referred to in paragraph 1 shall include provisions on the conditions, procedures and detailed arrangements for the scientific panel and its members to issue alerts, and to request the assistance of the AI Office for the performance of the tasks of the scientific panel.

Corresponding Recitals

(148)

This Regulation should establish a governance framework that both allows to coordinate and support the application of this Regulation at national level, as well as build capabilities at Union level and integrate stakeholders in the field of AI. The effective implementation and enforcement of this Regulation require a governance framework that allows to coordinate and build up central expertise at Union level. The AI Office was established by Commission Decision (45) and has as its mission to develop Union expertise and capabilities in the field of AI and to contribute to the implementation of Union law on AI. Member States should facilitate the tasks of the AI Office with a view to support the development of Union expertise and capabilities at Union level and to strengthen the functioning of the digital single market. Furthermore, a Board composed of representatives of the Member States, a scientific panel to integrate the scientific community and an advisory forum to contribute stakeholder input to the implementation of this Regulation, at Union and national level, should be established. The development of Union expertise and capabilities should also include making use of existing resources and expertise, in particular through synergies with structures built up in the context of the Union level enforcement of other law and synergies with related initiatives at Union level, such as the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the AI testing and experimentation facilities under the Digital Europe Programme.
View Recital

(151)

To support the implementation and enforcement of this Regulation, in particular the monitoring activities of the AI Office as regards general-purpose AI models, a scientific panel of independent experts should be established. The independent experts constituting the scientific panel should be selected on the basis of up-to-date scientific or technical expertise in the field of AI and should perform their tasks with impartiality, objectivity and ensure the confidentiality of information and data obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities. To allow the reinforcement of national capacities necessary for the effective enforcement of this Regulation, Member States should be able to request support from the pool of experts constituting the scientific panel for their enforcement activities.
View Recital