Better together? Human oversight as means to achieve fairness in the European AI Act governance

Abstract In this article, we investigate the relationship between human oversight and fairness within the evolving framework of EU AI regulatory governance. We address two core research questions: (1) How are human oversight and fairness related? and (2) To what extent does the AI Act establish a framework for human oversight that effectively supports the implementation of the various dimensions of fairness? Based on a review of interdisciplinary literature, the article identifies three normative claims linking human oversight to fairness: first, that human oversight can help mitigate bias and error in AI systems; second, that it can function as a mechanism of accountability by assigning oversight to natural persons where AI systems lack legal liability; and third, that it can introduce human empathy and contextual sensitivity into decision-making processes, enabling a substantive notion of fairness that takes into account individual circumstances. A critical analysis of the AI Act reveals that while these normative aspirations are acknowledged, the Act only partially operationalises them, leaving several aspects of fairness insufficiently supported.