Estonian justice minister: worst AI abuses should be treated as crimes against humanity

Estonia's Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta said on Wednesday, during the public broadcaster ERR's webcast "Otse uudistemajast," that the most severe abuses of artificial intelligence (AI) should be treated under international law as crimes against humanity. She stressed that global AI rules must be agreed faster than they were for nuclear energy, where international rules took from August 1945 until 1970.

Estonia's three priorities

Pakosta named three areas Estonia wants to push in international regulation. The first is bringing AI's most destructive impacts under the existing crimes-against-humanity framework. The second is ensuring that the state's digital infrastructure does not become dependent on technology controlled by foreign providers, which is why significant AI systems must have open-source options. The third is requiring large AI systems to include smaller languages and cultures, otherwise Estonian language and culture could vanish.

The minister also said Russia is deliberately funding bots so that its interpretation of history appears in AI systems. In her view, younger people increasingly turn to AI rather than history books for information. According to her, Estonia uses AI in about 260 public sector services, relying on public or non-sensitive information, and has decided not to use it to surveil people.

Children, bureaucracy and scooters

Her ministry is preparing legislation to make it easier for parents to find help for children. The minister also cited a "one in, one out" principle in lawmaking and the repeal or simplification of nearly one-fifth of legal acts.

On police proposals to confiscate electric scooters that exceed legal power limits, Pakosta said changes would be needed but should follow public debate.

Private offender registry and health data

Pakosta criticized the privately created registry of sex offenders and domestic abusers at ettevaatust.ee, noting that it listed around 400 people, while the national criminal records registry includes more than 11,000 people barred from contact with children. The government is expected to consider on Thursday an amendment extending the time-bar for the most serious sexual offenses against children from age 28 to age 50 of the victim.

She also discussed a bill that would let investigators obtain technical descriptions of injuries, but not patients' own accounts of how they occurred, with court authorization.

Future of Eesti 200

On Sunday, the council of Eesti 200, Pakosta's party, decided not to pursue a merger with the Estonian Greens ahead of the Riigikogu (parliament) elections. Pakosta declined to state her views on the party's next steps, but supported party mergers and said she believes one will eventually happen.