Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

There seems little doubt that lawyers and the legal system will be just as affected by the artificial intelligence revolution as the rest of society.

This book is a welcome attempt to consider some of the serious, even alarming, implications for human rights. It comprises more than 30 essays by a wide range of contributors, covering subjects such as civil and political rights, privacy, asylum, non-discrimination and legal procedure. The scale of the endeavour is indicated by the length: 570 pages excluding tables and index, meaning a short review can only highlight some interesting themes and questions. Overall the scholarship is commendable, though uneven in places.

One problem for a book about nascent technology is the possibility it will soon be out of date: consider how quickly human fertilisation advanced after the Warnock Report of the 1980s. A second problem is that the concepts of human rights assumed by a number of contributors look equally vulnerable to obsolescence. Comparison with earlier human rights texts (even 21st-century examples) demonstrates how many of the assumptions of economic and social rights, gender and sex on which some of the authors rely may not be shared by future lawyers (or future AI), though not all the authors acknowledge as much.

One chapter rightly laments that AI is already being used for state repression, such as China’s use of facial-recognition AI to facilitate its abuse of the Uyghurs. Worryingly, though, it is not even as though oppressive regimes need to use AI for open suppression of rights. If AI enables the state to control how people earn a living, all other rights can be rendered illusory.

There are understandable calls for domestic regulation to prevent AI being used for breaches of privacy or unlawful discrimination. But national regulation will inevitably struggle to control global online activity, as we already know from libel and privacy in the internet age, and the chances of effective international agreement on restricting technology (or keeping it from malevolent actors) seem remote.

There is some intriguing discussion about what AI which has a genuine consciousness might entail. Science fiction has long enjoyed predicting disaster, such as DF Jones’ Colossus and Skynet in the The Terminator film series – AIs who swiftly overthrow their human creators.

But such AIs will probably write their own books. For now, this book is an important contribution to what can only be the beginning of a revolution.

James Wilson is an independent legal author. His most recent book is Lord Denning: Life, Law and Legacy (Wildy, Simmonds & Hill, 2023)