Artificial Intelligence between Transparency and Secrecy: From the EC Whitepaper to the AIA and Beyond European Journal of Law and Technology 12.3 (2021) (
As a response to the risks posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), policymakers are establishing oversight mechanisms to ensure that AI technology complies with the applicable legal and ethical standards. These new regulatory frameworks affect a plethora of actors which store, record and disseminate AI proprietary information, possibly curtailing third-parties’ intellectual property and trade secret in particular. This paper analyses the tension between transparency and secrecy in the context of the establishment of an EU conformity assessment for AI technology. After unveiling some of the shortcomings of the draft Artificial Intelligence Act, it proposes to borrow some of the solutions adopted in the pharmaceutical sector to AI. In doing so, it points to an on‑demand access scheme that complies with the principle of proportionality and strikes a reasonable balance between public and commercial interests.
