HUMAN RIGHTS AND TECHNOLOGY

Introduction

The year 2022 marks the 75th year since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human rights by the United Nations General Assembly. Human societies have made humongous progress since then, but the advancement of technologies and artificial intelligence continues to bear profound implications on the human rights framework.

The internet and other digital technologies are crucial in defending the rights of people around the world. There are many instances where information technology has been used for benefiting the international human rights movement. Using advanced technologies, information can be collected and distributed more cheaply and efficiently. Creating links among people is easier and forming new communities for human rights watch is much more feasible. Domestic as well as international reforms can be introduced using technologies such as Television, the internet, social media platforms, etc. But with digital inclusion and democratic frameworks, technological advancements can introduce new factors- factors curtailing rights and deepening inequality. Since most of the data is not created and disseminated equally, it can be biased or erroneous.

How do Technological advancements help in human rights protection and development?

1. It has been rightly said that the internet revolutions are the true markers of the twenty-first century. Various revolutionary groups tend to maintain direct contact with journalists and media agencies. This contact is not only significant in highlighting the violations of human rights around the world but also provides a clearer and truer picture of the condition of the most vulnerable groups of people around the world. Victims of war crimes, sex trade, human trafficking, and gender discrimination including the LGBTQ+ community, and refugees fall under this category.

For an instance, many human rights groups such as Amnesty International, and the Network of East-west women use email facilities to connect with members in the internal network. Email communications not only facilitate easy contact but also ensures rapid dissemination of information and fast actions. Similarly, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, established in 1992 uses electronic bulletin boards and online announcements to provide information regarding freedom of press and expression. Almost all the small and big NGOs, associations, and independent groups of human rights activists have their websites or social media pages where human rights violations can be reported and the victims are connected with the correct person/ authority for seeking redressal.

2. Technology also aids in ensuring quality education for all and the right to education. After covid-19 struck the world, more than 120 million children and adolescents have been out of school. The shut down of the educational institutions not only affected the educational prospects but also severely impaired personality development, social skills, and mental health.

Technology became the sole mode for disrupting education in such times. Children all around the world have been attending schools and additional development classes using platforms such as Udemy, Unacademy, RoboTutor, BlackHat junior, YouTube, etc. For an instance, Khan Academy, an educational platform has more than 10 million new visitors every month getting trained. BYJU’s, India’s largest app has more than 7 million subscribers for learning math and science from the comfort of their homes. Many institutions have also developed open-source software to enable online teaching. Using these technologies, learners can learn individually as well as in groups.

3. The vast amount of data available on the internet can be used to possibly prevent many situations. From environmental hazards to conflict situations, from health data to work opportunities, everything is listed on the internet. Cloud computing and big data analysts can use all this information to predict critical situations that lead to violations of human rights. Job shortcomings, inflation affecting the standard of life and right to work, environmental conditions, as well as other humanitarian disasters can be prevented. In a case where the disasters are unpredictable, technology acts as a major player in spreading information and carrying out rescue operations.

Recently, the United Nations and Microsoft have finished talks to develop a dashboard that will allow the United Nations human rights staff to use data on specific countries and types of violations in real-time. The same is then used for humanitarian work and various policy decisions are taken based on this data.

4. Slavery in active form has vanished on record but it continues to exist in other forms. Modern-day slavery can be found in form of forced labor supply in big corporations. Forced labor in these firms is not only underpaid but also brutally harassed and not provided with adequate work conditions.

When such insider information is quite crucial in preventing the harassment of workers at the workplace, these workers belong to the vulnerable category and do not speak up. They continue to be treated like mere animals for years without even complaining. In such situations, technology plays a crucial role. Various local platforms are being used to create awareness and eliminate abuse in the supply chain facilities.

Challenges posed by technological advancement for the human rights regime

While technological advancement is extremely helpful in mobilizing resources and efficiency for human rights protection and development, it also has some serious shortcomings. It has the potential to challenge the existing human rights if not used properly.

1. The bounty of technological advancement- the unlimited load of data available, accessible to all is the first and the foremost enemy of human rights. In the quest to access new information, people have been more careless. Their privacy and personal information are at the risk of being shared for business. A study by a business insider shows that more than 34 billion devices have been connected to the internet around the world in the year 2020. The number has increased by leaps and bounds due to the covid-19 shutdowns. People resort to online shopping even for buying daily groceries. These platforms again use the data provided by the customers for business analysis. All these devices connected to the internet can be easily used to track the personal data of the user. The same can be used to detect the location of devices, fetch bank details as well as monitor real-time movement. The shift of the medical services and other important services such as education, banking, etc. has exposed even the children to these risks.

A study by human rights watch showed that out of the 163 products that were being reviewed for surveillance of children under the garb of education, 145 devices harvested information about the children using them. This means that 89% of the platforms and technologies being used by schools for educating the children could be used to access their physical movements, their details, etc. This poses a serious threat to the right to privacy around the globe which has other potential risks such as attacks by scammers, virus attacks, identity theft, etc.

2. More than 3 billion people use the internet regularly now. This marks a 2.3 billion rise in the number of internet users since 2000. Most of these 3 billion people use the internet as a platform to express their opinions and enjoy the right to freedom of opinion via communication and exchange of thoughts and ideas.

However, this freedom has been limited by many governments many times. In the year 2016, the internet was shut down more than 50 times in the US only, as per the reports of the United Nations. A report by the Times of India shows that 109 out of the total 155 internet shutdowns around the world were recorded in India only in the year 2020. Even though many landmark regulations have been adopted by many countries, their effective implementation is still a castle in dreams. The EU parliament adopted a landmark regulation of internet platforms, the Digital services act (DSA) to respect the rights of the citizens in the online space, but even this widely celebrated legislation has some typical pitfalls- which only show the inefficiency of the authorities in the regulation of the online space.

3. The increasing use of Artificial intelligence and automation has made things easier for service providers. While work at workplaces has become more efficient and easier with technologies such as robots, this has serious implications for the right to fair and decent work of humans. The use of Artificial intelligence and automation has significantly reduced the number of living human beings in many domains. An estimated 85% of all customer interactions will be carried out without any involvement of human agents in the coming few years, studies show. Chatbots and self-service technologies are another threat.

The vast spread of Machine learning, AI, and other such technologies not only makes the work environment unfit for human beings but also poses a serious threat of unemployment for the generations to come.

4. The information on the internet is massive. In such a situation, analysis and interpretation of the correct type of information by the correct person is important. A wrong piece of information communication casually on WhatsApp groups can be a major reason behind big cultural unrest in a country like India. Fake news and wrong information are used as perpetrators to invoke anger and sentimental surges. In such a situation, information on the internet serves more negative purposes.

A Ukrainian mayor’s video was edited and impersonalized with a different message which put the lives of thousands of refugees from Ukraine in danger. This is just one example of how misinformation is spread with no effort on the internet.

Conclusion 

Internet, technology, and technological advancement are structures that allow growth, and rapid actions in the human rights regime. Not only do these services provide a platform for expressing grief and grievances, but technology is also greatly helpful in the formulation and dissemination of policies. However, the very existence of technology comes out to be dangerous for human beings and their basic human rights when the use of technology is not monitored and carefully done. For practical purposes, legislation that can be implemented well on all technical advancements should be introduced. People should be taught about their rights and the correct usage of technology, so a balance is achieved between the two. The focus should be on actually helpful building technologies rather than on just building technology.

~Authored by Mahima Chaudhary