Dismantling Four Myths in AI & EU Law Through Legal Information ‘About’ Reality

Abstract

AbstractThe European Commission has recently proposed several acts, directives and regulations that shall complement today’s legislation on the internet, data governance, and Artificial Intelligence, e.g., the AI Act from May 2021. Some have proposed to sum up current trends of EU law according to catchy formulas, such as (i) digital sovereignty; (ii) digital constitutionalism; (iii) a new Brussels effect; and, (iv) a human-centric approach to AI. Each of these narratives has its merits, but can be highly misleading. They must be taken with four pinches of salt. The aim of this paper is to dismantle these ‘myths’ through legal information ‘about’ reality, that is, knowledge and concepts that frame the representation and function of EU law. We should be attentive to that which current myths overlook, such as the open issues on the balance of power between EU institutions and member states (MS), a new generation of digital rights at both EU and MS constitutional levels, down to the interplay between new models of legal governance and the potential fragmentation of the system, e.g., between technological regulations and environmental law.