: Presiding Officer, I'm
sure you're aware that at the top of the Premier League table,
unfortunately, there are two London football clubs, and, unlike
the Counsel General, I'm not a fan of either of them. But I did
take note—my colleague , of course, is—but I did take
note, when they played each other earlier last month, and that
was because of the use of live facial recognition technology,
being deployed against people whose only crime that day was
wanting to watch the football with their friends and family. This
is not the first case where live facial recognition technology
has been used, and it's not just in England; we've seen it in the
game of Cardiff City versus Swansea City in 2020; we've seen, in
March 2018, South Wales
Police using this type of technology at a peaceful
demonstration. I was at a concert here in Cardiff some weeks ago
where it was used again. Minister, I understand this is an
operational matter for the police, and intervention does lie
within UK Government competence, but what steps can the Welsh
Government take to ensure that, when live facial technology is
being used in Wales, it's used in a fair and proportional manner?
(Counsel General and
Minister for the Constitution): Well, one of the big
challenges facing our society and facing democratic societies
across the world is the growth of artificial intelligence and
this type of technology, because, on the one hand, the benefits
of technology have to be balanced against the civil liberties,
the rights, the freedoms, of individuals. So, it is an issue, and
you're right in terms of it being reserved, but we do recognise,
I think, that many people have legitimate concerns as to how
appropriately the balance between public safety and individual
rights is being struck. This is something Ministers are actively
exploring; we are engaging with South Wales
Police to understand more about how the technology is
actually being used, and, of course, you're aware of the legal
action that took place around that particular issue, and the
safeguards that are in place to reduce the impact on people's
privacy.
Additionally, we're liaising with the House of Lords Justice and
Home Affairs Committee to understand more on this subject,
following their detailed work in this area. Can I say, I'm also
very interested, and looking at—and I'm sure it will be a
significant feature—the work that's going on within the European
Union on this? Because they have adopted a draft regulation on
the use of artificial intelligence, the Artificial Intelligence
Act. That will form the basis of a text that the European
Commission will negotiate with the Council of the European
Union—that is, with the member states. And it has been a debate
going on for some time—first proposed in April 2021 through the
European Commission, the European Council adopted the position in
2022, the European Parliament adopted a text with some amendments
in June 2023—and the intention is to have legislation that is in
place by 2026 across all the EU countries. I think that work
that's being done is something I think we certainly want to share
in, we want to understand and may be of significant importance to
us. It's a great pity that we are not part of that process in
being able to engage in it. But, nevertheless, we can monitor and
learn from that as part of the ongoing discussions that are
taking place, not only on this, but also all the other
implications of the use of artificial intelligence.
