Morocco: Artificial Intelligence in the Moroccan legal framework

Artificial intelligence is becoming an essential tool that is transforming the world, impacting all areas of activity including the legal sector.

In Morocco, artificial intelligence has become a necessity that obliges the Moroccan university to attach great importance to this field and to accompany it through scientific research, training and expertise, while preserving the objective of assessing the capacity of the rule of law to use artificial intelligence optimally while preserving fundamental human rights.¹

It is therefore imperative to find a balance between the use of artificial intelligence for development and human beings and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms for a more inclusive, sustainable and controlled development.

A-  The impact of artificial intelligence in the judicial system in Morocco

Artificial intelligence is booming in Morocco and will be used more widely in the judicial system and crime prevention, with massive data sets being quickly analyzed, more detailed risk assessments associated with criminal profiles, and even the emergence of systems capable of predicting and preventing terrorist attacks.

Several artificial intelligence tools are used for judicial prediction to automate the examination of documents, particularly in the analysis of legal data and the search for relevant case law². This gives advantage to gain more time for lawyers to accomplish and begin on the more complex tasks that require in-depth legal expertise.

The introduction of artificial intelligence into legislative and judicial functions will allow them to move forward. The objective is to develop a global reflection by gradually inserting new tools. It is essential to ensure the inclusion of these tools and take into consideration the various disadvantages of artificial intelligence.³

B-  Artificial intelligence threatening the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms

• Risks of discrimination

Artificial intelligence can become a tool of oppression if it is used in a way that targets vulnerable citizens or violates their fundamental rights. If the government overpasses the limits, it can even limit political participation and freedom of movement. For AI to be used responsibly, we need to foster an

¹ «Intelligence Artificial et Droit» was the theme of a scientific symposium organized in Oujda, with the participation of a host of academics, researchers, and experts in this field.https://albayane.press.ma/focus-sur- le-rapport-entre-lintelligence-artificielle-et-le-droit.html

²« Artificial intelligence: a new trend in the legal community » https://juristconseil.blogspot.com/2018/01/intelligence-artificielle-une-nouvelle.html

³ Article from « medias24 » "Artificial intelligence at the service of justice: between revolutions and excesses" https://medias24.com/2023/04/05/intelligence-artificielle-au-service-de-la-justice-entre-revolution-et-derives- avis-dexpert/

open environment where people can access and share data without fear of discrimination or censorship. We also need to develop high human rights standards that can be applied in the context of artificial intelligence. These criteria help protect vulnerable groups from algorithmic abuse.⁴

The best way to avoid discrimination is to ensure the development and responsible use of artificial intelligence. It is about making sure that the system built is transparent and open to everyone, so that no one can touch it for their own purposes.

·       Transparency issues

In the field of artificial intelligence, transparency is very important, it helps us understand how the system works so that we can make sure that the system is doing what it needs to do. In the same way, this transparency allows us to hold the law and the judiciary accountable for their actions.⁵

C-   Artificial intelligence and the protection of personal data

Artificial intelligence is mainly data processing, it is the core business of algorithms, and in this sense, Morocco has introduced Law 09-08 which enacts the rules relating to the protection of personal data and has established a National Commission for the Control of the Protection of Personal Data (CNDP), responsible for ensuring the protection of personal data contained in computer or paper files and processing, both public and private.

It should also be noted that at the international level, the CNDP has filed a request for adequacy with the European Commission so that Morocco is fully considered as a country ensuring the protection of personal data in accordance with European standards. It also contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation with a view to acceding to Council of Europe Convention 108 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data.

Morocco also has a legal arsenal and specialized bodies in this area including the Digital Development Agency (ADD) and the Directorate General of Information Systems Security (DGSSI). The latter provides monitoring, detection, alert and response services to computer attacks supervised by MACERT (Moroccan Computer Emergency Response Team) to manage all risks related to cybercrime, while providing expertise and technical support to directors and making available to companies.⁶

However, artificial intelligence collects and processes personal and sensitive data such as health and biometric information on litigants, which can compromise privacy, individual rights and data security, especially in the case of cyberattacks.

Any processing of legal and judicial data passes into so-called artificial intelligence systems or measures derived from data science reducing the functioning of justice, transparency and application of law and consistency of case law.

The intersection of artificial intelligence with ethics and privacy is gaining momentum as technology becomes more prevalent in IT infrastructure. There are many examples of the power of artificial intelligence algorithms leading to privacy issues and ethical dilemmas.

AI powers many processes and will continue to do so, especially as manufacturing embraces technology and smart cities emerge. However, this technology, by its very nature, needs to consume more and more

⁴ When Law and Justice use artificial intelligence 'The risks of discrimination » https://www.intelligence- artificielle-school.com/secteur-d-activite/droit-et-justice/

⁵ When Law and Justice use artificial intelligence "transparency issues" https://www.intelligence-artificielle- school.com/secteur-d-activite/droit-et-justice/

⁶ Artificial intelligence in Morocco: between regulatory framework and economic strategy » https://www.policycenter.ma/sites/default/files/2022-10/PB_59_22_%20JALDI.pdf

data to gain intelligence and efficiency. This creates new privacy and ethical challenges that must be addressed through careful policy and solution design.⁷

It can be concluded that it is therefore important to ensure the legal security of data, which is the basis for the development of the digital economy, and to ensure that artificial intelligence technologies operate ethically and with respect for privacy.

D-   Artificial intelligence and intellectual property

In the area of intellectual property, the consideration of some legislative changes by the legislator to facilitate decision-making for artificial intelligence applications should be taken into account, such as the need to take measures to encourage IP applicants to comply with transparency standards regarding the use of artificial intelligence; and technology. It should be recalled that according to Moroccan legislation, the unauthorized use of data contained in works protected by copyright for machine learning purposes is not considered an infringement of copyright, especially for learning purposes (Article 12 of Law 2.00 on copyright and related rights).

This does not prevent legislation from providing for an exception that allows the use of data that drives artificial intelligence applications.⁸

In order to control or reduce the technological gap in artificial intelligence, general policy measures in the field of intellectual property may be considered, such as:

• Capacity building;
• Continuing education for practitioners;
  • Integrate educational modules related to artificial intelligence into the annual curriculum of schools and universities;
  • Secure internet access;
  • Ongoing technical support and assistance by subject matter experts;
  • Respect for classical and artificial copyright;
  • Access to information and databases in accordance with applicable laws.

• These measures are of a practical and political nature.

Today, it is clear that the GPT chat platform created by the company Open AI, which aims to use artificial intelligence to interact with users, is designed to answer all kinds of questions. This new technology, which has frustrated users, uses data from external sources and APIs to provide more specific or detailed information when needed. By emphasizing that the use of copyrighted material for purposes such as research and scholarship etc is limited because this platform allows fair use.

This means that governments, businesses and civil society organizations need to work together to develop policies and regulations that protect intellectual property rights while fostering innovation in AI.⁹

As a last resort, it is important to say that it is obvious that the insertion of artificial intelligence can provide several professional advantages of law, but provided it is done in an ethical and responsible way. We must be aware of the limits of artificial intelligence and its potential risks, especially for ethical and confidentiality reasons, artificial intelligence must complement and enrich the work of lawyers but

⁷ Artificial intelligence in Morocco: between regulatory framework and economic strategy » https://www.policycenter.ma/sites/default/files/2022-10/PB_59_22_%20JALDI.pdf

⁸ "WIPO Dialogue on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence" https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/about- ip/en/artificial_intelligence/call_for_comments/pdf/ms_morocco_fr.pdf

⁹ “CHAT GPT : Copyright friendly?” https://www.hnh-iplaw.com/chat-gpt-copyright-friendly/