AI Webinar "When rights and tech collide: Protecting human rights and equality in the age of AI" took place on 7th June

"When rights and tech collide: Protecting human rights and equality in the age of AI"

A joint webinar on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human rights, organised by Equinet and the Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (CFNHRI) and chaired by the Equality and Human Rights Commission of Great Britain (EHRC), took place on 7th June 2022. 

As technologies evolve, so do our responsibilities to protect equality and human rights. Whether in terms of employment, healthcare, social security, access to justice, and the protection of marginalised groups, technologies such as artificial intelligence can enhance or undermine existing protections.

Both online and off, it is vital that we can protect human rights and equality for all across the globe.

In this context, the webinar achived the following:

  • Looked at how emergent technologies have transformed our responsibilities for equality and human rights, and how the rights community, including National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and National Equality Bodies (NEBs), can respond.
  • Featured NHRIs and NEBs who have brought technology-enabled discrimination cases to court, advised parliaments and governments on bringing legislation and regulation into the AI-age, and engaged with civil society to understand how we can build in human rights at the ground level. Each will offer examples to contextualise the conversation and set the scene for further discussion from the participants.
  • Made explicit the myriad of ways emergent technologies can impact on equality and human rights, through the unique mandate and expertise of NEBs and NHRIs.

Panel:

  • Dee Masters - Barrister, Cloisters Chambers / AI legal consultancy (UK)/Co-author of Equinet's AI Report "Regulating for an Equal AI"
  • Christiaan Duijst - Policy Advisor, Digitalization and Human Rights, Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (The Netherlands)
  • Nathalie Schlenzka - Senior Policy Officer, Federal Anti - Discrimination Agency (FADA) (Germany)
  • Marcella Daye - Senior Policy Advisor – Policy, Research, and International Division, Canadian Human Rights Commission (Canada)
  • CHAIR: Paul Hossack – Principal – Strategic Lead, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (Great Britain)

For presentations from the webinar, please contact Milla Vidina (milla.vidina@equineteurope.org), Policity Officer with focus on AI at the Equinet Secretariat