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The director of the Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT), Meritxell Borràs i Solé, advocated this Wednesday in Santander for citizen awareness, government commitment and the necessary tools for supervisory bodies to develop human-centered artificial intelligence that respects fundamental rights. She made these remarks during the roundtable ‘AI and Disruptive Technologies from the Perspective of Supervisory and Data Protection Authorities: Initiatives and Competencies’, which included representatives from the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA), the Andalusian Council for Transparency and Data Protection, and the Basque Data Protection Authority. The session was moderated by the president of the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), Lorenzo Cotino.
The roundtable was part of the course ‘Innovation and Privacy in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Data Spaces: Building a Model Compatible with Human Rights’, organized by the AEPD, and held during the 2025 Summer Activities of the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) in Santander. The course is aimed at businesses, public administrations, data protection professionals, and researchers, and is taking place from July 9 to 11.
During her speech, Borràs highlighted the "endless benefits" of artificial intelligence and advocated for maximizing its potential while ensuring that its development remains sustainable over time.
The Catalan Model for Responsible AI
Borràs also emphasized the growing importance of the Catalan FRIA model as a reference for carrying out fundamental rights impact assessments for high risk AI systems—an EU Artificial Intelligence Regulation requirement when a high risk to individuals is identified.
This model, promoted by APDCAT, was developed within the working group of the ‘DPD en xarxa’ community, led by Alessandro Mantelero, expert of the European Data Protection Board and Professor of Private Law and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in Mediterranean Digital Societies and Law at the Polytechnic University of Turin.
The director celebrated the results other authorities, such as the Croatian and the Basque Data Protection Authorities, are already promoting it among organizations and institutions within their areas of influence as a tool for responsible AI.
“We are at a historic moment in which the decisions we make today must shape the new society that is emerging around technology and data,” concluded the director.
The director of the Catalan Data Protection Authority took part in a roundtable during the course ‘Innovation and Privacy in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Data Spaces: Building a Model Compatible with Human Rights’, organized by the Spanish Data Protection Agency, as part of the 2025 Summer Activities of the Menéndez Pelayo International University.