In the august issue of the CRi, Nathalie Smuha, the coordinator of the work of the High-Level Expert Group on AI, outlined the approach and considerations leading to the “The EU Approach to Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence”.This paper provides a critical assessment of the Ethical Guidelines of the EU Commission and points out why a law enforcement focused approach must be the essential next step towards a beneficial and humane development of AI. Questioning the diversity of the Commssion’s High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, the dangers of ethics shopping are exposed as well as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights explored as already well established alternative reference framework for AI. Having exposed the need for effective red lines, not only the hidden social and ecological cost are assessed, but also the risk of “buying-out” research and other ethical issues neglected in the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. Finally, three key weaknesses concerning the crucial translation of ethical principles into practice (enforcement) are highlighted.

In 2013, MillerCoors LLC (“MillerCoors”), a large brewery company, engaged HCL Technologies Limited and HCL America, Inc. (“HCL”), an SAP consultant and implementer, to implement an enterprise SAP solution across its various breweries. The implementation was subject to delays and cost overruns. Ultimately, MillerCoors brought a claim against HCL for damages suffered in an amount in excess of $100 million. HCL responded with a defence and counterclaim, alleging breach of contract and tortious interference with the agreements by MillerCoors and sought damages for MillerCoors’ wrongful termination of the agreement. The parties settled the dispute in 2018. This paper reviews some of the key issues of the lawsuit, and identifies certain lessons learned for practitioners that draft these contracts.