On March 20th and 21st, the IEAI co-hosted a day-long Policy Dialogue on AI and Human Rights and an official side event of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council on AI and Global Human Rights Challenges in Geneva, Switzerland. Alongside co-hosts from Globethics and Ludwig Maximillian University (LMU), IEAI Executive Director, Caitlin Corrigan represented the Institute at both events.
Following the successful International AI and Human Rights Summit in July 2024, hosted in Munich by the IEAI with Globethics, the day-long workshop on March 20th brought together experts from around the world to discuss the need for an international standard concerning the impact of AI on Human Rights. The more than 20 participants discussed topics related to AI and democracy, AI and international and humanitarian law, AI and standardization, and the need for an inclusive and global approach to international governance on AI through a series of panel sessions.
The Policy Dialogue also served to set the stage for the Panel Discussion that took place with a packed room on March 21st at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Co-hosted by the IEAI, LMU and Globethics and moderated by Fadi Daou (Globethics), Alexander Kriebitz (LMU) and Caitlin Corrigan (IEAI), the panel brought together representatives from government (Germany and the Gambia), international organizations (UNESCO and ITU) and civil society (Center for AI and Digital Policy) to discuss the need for a global, mindful and adaptive convention on AI and human rights.
The session began with an introduction to the topic by each of the moderators. This was followed by a video endorsement of the session by Alessandra Sala, co-chair of UNESCO Women 4 Ethical AI Platform, calling for the need, in particular, to bring researchers together with policymakers on this topic. The first panelist, Nicole Manger of the German Federal Foreign Office, spoke in detail about the Global Digital Compact as an important start to framing the impacts of AI around human rights, but because of its non-binding nature noting the need to be done in this space. Moreover, she noted that discussions around the human rights impacts of AI need to now go beyond the question of bias to tackle inequality, supply chain and cross-boarded impacts AI is having today. Next, Paola Gálvez Callirgos of the Center for AI and Digital Policy followed up on this observation noting the fact that “AI is not merely ‘mirroring’ inequalities, it is making them bigger”. She called for two concrete actions – (1) the creation of a UN Rapporteur on AI and Human Rights and (2) the banning of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS).
Following this, Olivier Alais from UN ITU spoke about the need to leverage a dialog on AI and human rights with technical communities in order to create standards and commitments that are technically implementable as well. Finally, Muhammadou M.O. Kah, the Ambassador of the Gambia to Switzerland, spoke on the need for a convention that is part of a global, coordinated effort, aligned with international and humanitarian law, and is adaptive to the changing AI ecosystem, referring to the draft Convention developed at the AI and Human Rights Summit hosted at the IEAI with Globethics in 2024.
Key calls to action that resulted from this discussion and the day-long Policy Dialogue included:
- Acknowledging the need for a holistic understanding of AI’s impact that includes international AI value chains, labor rights and an increasingly complex AI ecosystem.
- Establishing a UN Special Rapporteur on AI & Human Rights to ensure oversight, accountability and global cooperation.
- Banning autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) to prevent violations of international humanitarian law.
- Creating a global framework to assess and standardize AI’s impact on human rights—grounded in multistakeholder collaboration.
- Strengthening global AI governance through a dedicated international institution to regulate AI’s rapid development.
- Empowering the Human Rights Council to lead on AI and human rights, fostering an ongoing dialog between governments, civil society, academia and the private sector.
The IEAI would like to thank our hosts in Geneva, Globethics, the support of LMU for the events, as well as all the amazing contributors to the workshop. Thank you for your dedication to this topic!