In the framework of permanent cooperation with the United Nations’ bodies and institutions our Association sent submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in framework of the new UN report preparation, regarding the protection of human rights defenders in the digital age, including the artificial intelligence’s (AI) challenges.
Relevant ARC proposals, prepared by Andrii Chvaliuk, Olexiy Plotnikov and other experts, and published at the UN official web-sources now, reminded about Russia-committed information manipulations, frauds with origins of AI-generated or manipulated digital content, that create strong risks for media and information literacy, deepening threats to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
The ARC submission reminded that Russia-initiated AI activities, reflected in the creation of hundreds of online “media,” acting without direct human participation for manipulation by Internet search systems.
Such forms of disinformation make special importance for the issue of the subject of legal responsibility in such provocation, the submission added, also stressing challenges with the definition of legal regime for AI-related propaganda victims on national and international levels.
The experts’ attention was drawn also to the development of relevant international standards embodied in the system of existing documents of the UN and its specialized organizations, taking into account the Framework Convention on AI, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, and relevant European Commission’s acts.
The submission added that manipulations with the AI, done by authoritarian regimes together with loyal corporations and other business structures, in conditions of interstate conflicts, war zones and occupied territories create new strong risks not to fundamental rights only, such as rights to life, to freedom and to privacy, but also to activities of human rights defenders.
Relevant Crimea-related examples were pointed, such usage by Russia of the AI’s algorithms in social networks for disseminating fakes, hate speech, and propaganda against human rights defenders; for counteracting dissidents and activists; for creating deepfakes with genocidal, militaristic, and racist character against human rights defenders; for systems of controlling faces and trips simplifying relevant repressions.
Mentioned Report A/HRC/63/52 of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights “Protecting Human Rights Defenders in the Digital Age” recognised relevant challenges and demanded from states to regulate the surveillance technologies market, implementing moratoriums on the domestic and transnational sale and use of surveillance and spyware technologies unless or until adequate human rights safeguards are in place.
