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Speech by Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

A very good morning to all of you.

The Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons, United Kingdom

Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Human Rights Commissionner,

Honourable parliamentarians,

Dear Friends,

Speaking in 2016, the great physicist Stephen Hawking said,

“The rise of powerful AI will be either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity.  We do not yet know which.”

Now, nearly 10 years later, powerful AI continues its rise and rise.

Since the release of ChatGPT three years ago, we have seen an explosion in the use of AI and a dramatic improvement in its capabilities.

Yes – it was just three years ago that ChatGPT AI was released.

And in 2025, AI is being used for everything from research to voice overs.

Indeed, we can no longer be sure whether the voice trying to convince us is real.

Or, whether the video we see on our social media feed depicts something that really happened, or is an utterly convincing deep fake.

There is no doubt that AI is an incredibly potent tool — and becoming more and more so every day.

I am sure that such a potent tool can improve our lives dramatically.

AI can - and is already to a certain extent - assisting us in everything from healthcare to climate change mitigation, and from customer service to agriculture.

But at the same time, it seems that for every positive, there is a negative.

AI can be used to design viruses that could become plagues.

AI surveillance can make us safer — but it also has significant implications for privacy and freedom.

AI is also energy intensive, consuming tremendous amounts of fossil fuel-based electricity.

Finally, it may add the artificial, while taking the humanity out of interactions.

And all of this can be challenging, threatening and even frightening. And we know that some people would rather avoid technology altogether.

Dear friends,

AI is certainly being used in fraudulent and deceitful manners.

It is used to perpetrate all manner of cybercrime, from scams to child abuse.

And it is used to create and spread disinformation.

Such disinformation threatens our democracies.

It can even promote social unrest and polarization.

And artificial intelligence has already changed the basis on which ordinary people — the citizens of our democracies — form opinions.

It has also transformed the way our parliamentary representatives communicate with the public.

And it has magnified the possibilities for foreign information manipulation and interference — known as FIMI.

In some cases — they use it to strike at the very heart of democracy by undermining free and fair elections.

We have seen this, for example, in Moldova — even with the use of deep-fakes to target President Sandu herself.

Indeed, women are all too often the targets of vicious deep-fake attacks.

And artificial Intelligence is able to target individuals and communities in ways we could hardly have imagined, just a short time ago.

Dear friends,

The rise of powerful AI is, without a doubt, both an immense opportunity, but at the same time a threat to our way of life and our values.

And we cannot stop advances in technology.

What we must do is to ensure that technology is used to serve people, and not the other way around.

And given that artificial intelligence knows no border, we need to work together across borders.

All of us.

And most importantly, we must ensure that our democratic processes remain resilient, even as information ecosystems evolve — and that they keep human rights at their core.

We must use automated systems to assist, but not to replace human beings — including our elected representatives.

And we must ensure that the regulation and methods we employ are able to adapt and evolve as the technology does.

That is why we negotiated the first international treaty, with broad participation from numerous countries, including the United States, as well as the EU and many others – a new Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Since it was opened for signature last year, seventeen nations and the European Union have already signed the Framework Convention.

Those include four non-member states, because responsible AI is certainly a global concern.

And – as I said - this is a crucial Convention — the first ever binding international treaty on Artificial Intelligence.

It is designed to translate democratic values into enforceable obligations — and today, again, I encourage all our Member States, as well as countries outside Europe, to sign and ratify this incredibly important treaty.

At the same time, the Council of Europe provides further support for ensuring responsible use of AI through the HUDERIA Methodology — a tool that can be used by public and private organisations to carry out risk and impact assessments for AI systems.

With the use of the HUDERIA methodology and through minimizing or eliminating risks, the public can be protected throughout the AI system’s life cycle.

Last year we also launched the HUDERIA Academy, providing training, tools and practical governance to support legislatures and public authorities.

Dear friends,

There is no part of our daily lives, and certainly no part of the democratic community that is untouched by the influence of Artificial Intelligence.

And I applaud the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Parliament of the United Kingdom for organising this conference.

Thank you for the impressive work you have done in the Parliament, under your leadership, Mr Speaker.

Also in the Council of Europe, we have taken several steps on how best to utilise AI in our work, through dedicated workgroups on AI to elaborate a vision and strategy on AI.

The Assembly has indeed worked hard to draw attention to the consequences of AI, reminding us, over and over again, that technology must remain anchored in human rights, democratic accountability and the rule of law.

And most importantly, it has consistently encouraged national parliaments to stay engaged, informed and proactive.

There is only one way forward  - that we work together to ensure the main challenges related to AI are discussed and addressed - broadly and effectively.

Our starting point is not to fear innovation, but to help shape it — and to shape it in the best possible way.

Making sure AI becomes a great asset to human mankind, instead of a liability.

That is our role today.

And finally, Artificial Intelligence may shape the future, but we must safeguard humanity in all of this. In short, fostering a democratic and rights-based approach to AI governance.

Or as the British-American computer scientist and technology entrepreneur, Andrew Ng, has stated it: “Humans are not perfect, and neither is AI. But together we can create something extraordinary.”