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IGF 2024 Networking Session #169 A Rights-Respecting Approach to Emerging Tech Development

    Freedom Online Coalition
    The Kingdom of the Netherlands, Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) Chair 2024 (Marie Humeau) / FOC Support Unit (Nusa Tomic, Nicholas Powell) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (Isabel Ebert)

    Speakers
    • Opening Remarks: Rasmus Lumi, Director General of the Department of International Organizations and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
    • Moderator: Radka Sibille, Digital Affairs Advisor, EU Delegation to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva 
    • Brendan Dowling, Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology 
    • Scott Campbell, Senior Human Rights Officer, OHCHR 
    • Roman Danyliw, Chair, IETF 
    • Ihueze Nwobilor, Senior Programmes Officer, Paradigm Initiative 
    • Alex Walden, Global Head of Human Rights, Google
    Onsite Moderator

    Radka Sibille, Digital Affairs Advisor, EU Delegation to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva

    Online Moderator

    FOC Support Unit (Zora Gouhary)

    Rapporteur

    FOC Support Unit (Nusa Tomic)

    SDGs

    9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    9.1
    16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    16.10
    16.3
    16.6
    16.7
    16.8
    16.a
    16.b
    17.14
    17.16
    17.6
    17.7
    17.9

    Targets: As noted above, the session aims to provide a space for relevant stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue on ensuring a rights-respecting approach in developing emerging technologies, including generative AI tools and systems, which especially relates to SDGs 16 and 17. There is a significant danger that technical standardisation relating to emerging technologies may lead to standards which systematically undermine the rights-enabling properties of these technologies, while a multistakeholder approach to standardisation, guided by human rights law and frameworks, may enable harnessing these kinds of technologies to advance the SDGs.

    Format

     

    The session seeks to allow input from, as well as discuss the roles of, various stakeholders that are crucial in the development of emerging technologies and technical-standard setting. A networking setting would provide an appropriate format for this, while the duration would allow a significant amount of voices to be heard, and allow participants to address the noted policy questions.

     

    Duration (minutes)
    60
    Description

    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).

    Key Takeaways (* deadline at the end of the session day)

    The international human rights framework is fit for purpose to ensure rights-respecting technology development. There is a strong role for the Freedom Online Coalition to apply a mix of regulatory and policy measures in order to require tech companies to embody the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and prevent as well as mitigate the risks with regards to their bodies and services in the digital space.

    In terms of ensuring digital technologies are rights-respecting, it is crucial to have an inclusive, multidisciplinary, multistakeholder all inclusive approach to technical standard setting and initial stages in the life cycle of a technology to ensure safety by design, particularly when it comes integrating expert human rights voices, civil society representatives, and those most at risk of the potential impact.

    Civil society organisations experience severe barriers, costs and impediments to participation in standard setting processes, including due to lack of capacity, technical expertise, inaccessibility, and gatekeeping.

    Call to Action (* deadline at the end of the session day)

    Tech companies should ensure digital tech is scrutinised in terms of its impact on human rights, including through human rights risk assessments and due diligence according to the international human rights framework, before deployment. Technical standard-setting bodies should strive to create more conducive environments by lowering barriers, easing access and providing capacity building for CSO participation in standard setting processes.

    FOC governments should make sure policies around digital technologies are centred in international human rights law, raise the importance of technical standard setting for rights-respecting digital tech in international fora, and champion the multistakeholder model by empowering civil society organisations and creating space for all stakeholders, including CSOs, private sector, academia, and technical community to show up at the table.