Ethical and Legal Regulation of Using Artificial Intelligence in Morocco

Objective: to explore and identify the issues and opportunities for the ethical and legal regulation of artificial intelligence by the example of digital transformation in Morocco. Methods: the study was conducted using analytical and comparative approaches to address the emerging legal issues arising from the development of artificial intelligence. The traditional scientific method in law is based on legal analysis, which was applied to the study of legal texts, scientific literature, diagnosis of the condition of the study field at the national and international level. Along with this, the comparative approach in law was used, which made it possible to examine the Moroccan legislation comparison with that of other countries. Results: the article presents a review of scientific literature on the legal and ethical issues of using artificial intelligence. Legal texts and decrees developed at national and international level, directly or indirectly linked to the use of artificial intelligence, were reviewed. Moroccan legislation was compared with that of other countries. The findings suggest that, in the absence of a specific legal framework for artificial intelligence systems, the adoption of ethical standards in the form of guidelines, best practices and ethical charters is preferable. These mechanisms appear to be a viable alternative to legal regulation. In this sense, several initiatives were taken to promote “soft law”, which aims to encourage appropriate behavior of technological agents. Scientific novelty: the analysis of digital transformations in Morocco made it possible to present a comprehensive view on the role of ethical aspects and on the sufficiency of law to respond to the changes in the modern society, transformed by the development of artificial intelligence. Practical significance: the study allows identifying ways to find a more flexible balance between “soft” and “hard” law in the regulation of relations, taking into account the technological reality. This should encourage the appropriate behavior of technological agents and positively affect the specificity of the current situation. Today, the “hard law” slowly recognizes and addresses the problems associated with the digital technologies’ regulation and slowly takes into account the possible risks posed by artificial intelligence and the insufficiency of its regulation.