Artificial intelligence in the face of the normative silence of international law: a look at the European Union and MERCOSUR

The normative silence on artificial intelligence and, specifically, its use in the context of international law is an indispensable element in the debates of this discipline in the 21st century, through the responsibility attributed to states. The objective is to analyse the international regulation of artificial intelligence and specifically, its use in international relations within the scope of the European Union and MERCOSUR, exposing the challenges and opportunities, as necessary mechanisms to increase economic integration and legal protection through the inappropriate use of this technology. To this end, we define as the hypothesis of the study: the regulation of artificial intelligence in the international context, taking as references the European Union and MERCOSUR, as examples of the need for transnational legislation in this regard. The methodology used is a transdisciplinary approach based on the methods of the social and legal sciences, in particular: logical, historical-social, cultural and legal. As a result, it concludes on the most diverse implications and challenges of the international and regional regulatory neglect regarding the use of artificial intelligence. The contribution and originality of the study lies in an analysis of the need for a transnational norm that establishes minimum protections against the threats of this technology.