In past years, we have witnessed a significant increase of conversations around emerging technologies, especially generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools and systems, in the public sphere, peaking in 2023 following the release of ChatGPT. Since then, there have been extensive deliberations on the way these technologies affect human rights, and what implications new developments may have in the future. Emerging technologies have the potential to significantly impact the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms as defined by the foundational documents for international human rights law , and pose both opportunities for development and economic and social benefit, as well as risks for enabling and scaling human rights violations and abuses.
Both governments and the private sector have a role to play in ensuring that the benefits of emerging technologies are harnessed, and the risks brought about by their design, development, deployment and use addressed, mitigated, and remedied. In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, businesses have a responsibility to respect all internationally recognized human rights, avoiding infringing on the human rights of others and addressing adverse human rights impacts stemming from or linked to their business activities. This also extends to companies’ participation in technical standards-development. At the same time, states have obligations to protect and promote human rights, which applies to their involvement in standard-setting. As per the OHCHR’s report on Human rights and technical standard-setting processes for new and emerging digital technologies, technical standards can have crucial ramifications for human rights. Technical standards regulating digital technologies can generate human rights impacts in several ways, and there has been a growing body of work and research on this topic, including by OHCHR and civil society. However, more specific work is needed to understand the impact of technical standards on human rights in the context of AI systems, particularly with respect to embedded biases that lead to or facilitate discriminatory outcomes, or interfere with the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, privacy, access to information, and effective remedy.
This networking session will allow participants to explore the role of the private sector in ensuring a rights-respecting approach in developing emerging technologies, including generative AI tools and systems, as well as the role of governments in ensuring that the development and implementation of technical standards around these technologies is conducted in alignment with states’ obligation to protect and promote human rights, and avoid fragmentation of international standards.
The networking session will gather stakeholders that work on or have a role in technical standards development to also learn about and discuss human rights issues that arise in technical standards-setting, considering strategies for integrating human rights concerns and safeguards into technical standards for digital technologies. The networking format will allow speakers and participants to explore avenues for strategic cooperation on the development of technical standards for emerging technologies that is rooted in a multistakeholder approach, and outline existing tools and (legal) frameworks that can serve as guidelines. The outcome of the session will be a raised capacity of the participants on what responsibility each stakeholder group has to ensure the development of a rights-respecting emerging technology and how to utilise the UNGPs and the OHCHR technical standards report practically, as well as what impacts these technologies could have on human rights if they are not developed through a multistakeholder and human-rights approach and if international technical standards are fragmented. The outcomes of the session will be captured in a report, with concrete recommendations.
Guiding Questions: What are the most pressing risks for human rights posed by emerging technologies, such as generative AI tools, that are currently being deployed and used all over the world?
How can technical standards reinforce or mitigate these risks? What is the role of the private sector and governments in ensuring emerging technologies, such as generative AI tools, are rights-respecting?
How does this extend to technical standard setting?
How can we ensure the process of setting technical standards around emerging technologies is rooted in a multistakeholder approach, allowing for meaningful civil society and human rights experts input?
What have been the challenges to date in ensuring multistakeholder engagement in technical standards-development processes?
What role can the FOC and its member governments play to uphold human rights in technical standards (e.g., to help facilitate stakeholder participation, provide assistance and support to civil society to develop capacity to meaningfully and independently participate in standards-development processes, to create dedicated working groups/task forces in standard development organisations, coordinate support to stakeholder work in standard setting bodies through FOC, etc.)?
1) On-site support staff and online moderators will ensure that there is a seamless level of interaction between panellists present at the venue and those participating through a virtual meeting platform. Attendees both in-person and online will also be invited to ask questions through the available platforms. Ample time will be carved out for engagement from audience members.
2) We will aim to set rules of engagement for all attendees (inform them about the different ways they can interact during the event with the speakers and fellow participants, both online and offline, let online attendees know how they should use the chat feature, help them understand when to stay muted/unmuted, advise all participants on how and when they should ask questions, tell them who to contact in case any technical or practical issues arise). We would also assign designated online and on-site moderators, and prepare compelling content and structure of the agenda while being wary of meeting length.
3) We have not had any complementary tools or platforms planned at this time (subject to change).
Open Zoom
