Consumers’ right to explanation under AI decision making

The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) introduces a right to explanation for decisions primarily based on high-risk AI systems. BEUC views this right as essential for accountability, enforcement, and redress under the AI Act.

BEUC has long warned that obscurity in AI and algorithmic systems undermines consumer autonomy and fosters unfair practices and discrimination, especially when consumers cannot understand the logic behind scoring, profiling, or risk assessments by AI systems. The right to an explanation helps rebalance this information and power asymmetry. It obliges companies to disclose meaningful information about logic and factors behind the decision.

This is the minimum requirement to allow consumers to detect mistakes, identify unfair practices and seek redress. To ensure the effectiveness of the right to explanation under the AI Act, BEUC recommends the EU to draft clear guidelines with the following in mind:

1. Clear guidance on the AI Act’s interpretation and the interplay with other EU legal frameworks
2. Connecting the right to an explanation and the right to complaint
3. Encourage proactive provision of explanations
4. Promote a clear two-step enforcement pathway process