In December 2020, Poland adopted a national Policy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence, aiming to support and complement EU and OECD initiatives. The policy establishes goals and actions in six key areas: AI and society, innovative companies, science, education, international cooperation, and the public sector.
Key objectives include reforming education, encouraging AI innovation and research, increasing partnerships, and creating a data ecosystem. However, concrete steps to implement this strategy remain limited.
As an EU member state, Poland is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The country has also enacted its own Personal Data Protection Act to help implement the GDPR. Poland's data protection authority, the Office of Personal Data Protection, actively enforces these regulations.
In 2019, the authority fined a digital marketing company €220,000 for failing to properly notify individuals whose data it had collected through scraping methods. The authority has also approved Poland's first GDPR-compliant code of conduct for small medical facilities.
Poland's data protection framework provides citizens with rights regarding automated decision-making, including access to information about the factors and logic of algorithms. In 2019, Poland granted all banking customers the right to an explanation of creditworthiness assessments when applying for loans.
However, concerns have been raised about some AI applications. A controversial unemployment scoring system, introduced in 2014, was abolished in 2019 after Poland's Constitutional Court found it in breach of the constitution. The system had faced criticism from data protection authorities and human rights advocates for its lack of transparency and potential for discrimination.
Poland has also begun experimenting with AI in its judicial system through an online arbitration court called Ultima Ratio. This system aims to automatically prepare draft judgments, raising questions about compatibility with the right to a fair trial.
As a member of the EU and Council of Europe, Poland is committed to upholding the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. The country has also endorsed the OECD AI Principles and joined the Global Partnership on AI.
However, Poland's human rights record has faced scrutiny in recent years. Freedom House rates the country as "free" but notes concerns about judicial independence, media freedom, and LGBT+ rights. Poland's objection to including "gender equality" in EU conclusions on AI and fundamental rights in 2020 also raised eyebrows.
On the international stage, Poland has supported efforts to address the challenges posed by autonomous weapons systems, endorsing joint statements at the UN and participating in initiatives to promote responsible military use of AI.
This country report is our interpretation and summary of the "CAIDP Artificial Intelligence & Democratic Values Index 2023". The full report can be found here - https://www.caidp.org/reports/aidv-2023/