Artificial Intelligence in Emergency and Crisis Management: Rapid Evidence Review Report

In 2022, the Scientific Advice Mechanism delivered advice on how to improve Strategic Crisis Management in the European Union, in response to a request from the European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). This has stimulated further reflection and become the starting point for a new request for advice on crisis management by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) within DG ECHO. The focus this time is on the characteristics, opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI in crisis preparedness and response. Recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, and geopolitical tensions, have underscored the urgency of strengthening Europe’s crisis preparedness and response capacities, making the consideration of AI particularly timely. AI systems, however, must be used responsibly, ethically, and transparently in order to maintain public trust and safeguard fundamental rights.

This is a Rapid Evidence Review Report. To address the highly complex nature of the topic in the requested timeframe, SAPEA assembled a small interdisciplinary working group of outstanding experts in the field and then involved a wider group of experts to review the Report.

The project was coordinated by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, acting as the lead network on behalf of SAPEA. Cardiff University acted as a collaborating institution.