INTRODUCTION

• 1. Business entities currently employ AI and other algorithmic techniques in essentially all sectors of the economy in order to influence potential customers. The concept of AI is discussed elsewhere in this book. This contribution is more concerned with what is happening on the market under the label ‘AI’ and how this may affect those who are generally labelled as consumers. After all, the focus of legal research is not so much on ‘new’ technology itself, but rather on the aspects of social life that this technology makes newly salient.

To that end, I will first identify and categorise some of the ways in which business entities employ what is commonly referred to as AI as well as the risks and benefits of such uses (part 2). For this, I will rely on the findings of the ARTificial intelligence SYstems and consumer law & policy project (ARTSY Project) conducted by the European University Institute in Florence under the supervision of professor Hans Micklitz. Subsequently, I will examine how the legislator intends to adapt consumer policy to the changing circumstances created by these previously mentioned developments (part 3). I will limit this study to European Union consumer policy as the Belgian legislator is likely to adopt this approach. I will then examine some of the hurdles (AI-driven) autonomous agents present to consumer autonomy as well as the question to what extent and how this can be dealt with within the current consumer law framework (part 4). In particular, I will discuss a number of market practices which are closely related to the advent of autonomous agents. In this regard, I will rely on the key issues in the consumer domain as defined in a briefing document to the European Parliament prepared by one of the researchers of the ARTSY Project. I will not elaborate on consumer privacy as privacy considerations are discussed elsewhere in this book. Finally, I will recapitulate my findings and contemplate on the nature of consumer rights in the era of AI (part 5).

BENEFITS AND RISKS OF AI AS A MARKET TOOL

• 2. A sectoral analysis prepared within the framework of the ARTSY Project shows that the use of AI is booming in several domains.