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Our new Working Paper The Relevance of the Smart Mix of Measures for Artificial Intelligence – Assessing the Role of Regulation and the Need for Stronger Policy Coherence discusses how current initiatives on the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies should incorporate the protection and respect for human rights.
Aimed at policy-makers, the technology sector and all those working on the regulation of AI, it notably focuses on the United Nations Principles on Business and Human Rights’ (UNGPs) call on states to adopt a ‘smart mix’ of mandatory and voluntary measures to support their implementation and how this applies to the AI sector.
Written by Dr Ana Beduschi – Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Exeter – and Dr Isabel Ebert – Adviser to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights B-Tech Project –, the Working Paper discusses the relevance of such a smart mix of measures to regulate AI technologies and calls for increased policy coherence in order to overcome siloed agendas and strengthen AI governance.
Geneva Academy
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While voluntary initiatives on AI ethics proliferated, many stakeholders have highlighted the need for stronger mandatory regulation of these technologies. As a result, some States and international organizations have started implementing regulatory and policy frameworks on AI.
For instance, China has developed policy guidelines for AI, the European Commission has proposed a new legislative proposal on AI regulation, and the Council of Europe established the Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence working on a legislative proposal as well.
‘The sole adoption of mandatory regulation on AI may not suffice to foster a rights-respecting culture of conduct in the technology sector. Without robust regulatory bodies with sufficient capacity and resources to oversee the implementation of the measures and monitor compliance with the legal instruments, efforts to regulate AI may lack effectiveness’ explains Dr Ana Beduschi, Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy.
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The Working Paper underlines that voluntary measures may also be crucial to adjust the smart mix of measures and encourage responsible behaviour in the AI technology sector.
For instance, the adoption of codes of conduct and benchmarking exercises may support different stakeholders in finding a common understanding of human rights application to the AI sector. Additionally, they can help identify appropriate practices and red lines concerning AI design and development. Voluntary measures can thus complement and feed into regulatory processes.
This publication forms part of our research project on disruptive technologies and rights-based resilience – funded by the Geneva Science-Policy Interface – that aims at supporting the development of regulatory and policy responses to human rights challenges linked to digital technologies.
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A new Research Brief on Regulating Business Conduct in the Technology Sector: Gaps and Ways Forward in Applying the UNGPs depicts the prominent gaps in regulatory approaches to business conduct in the technology sector with regard to the UNGPs.
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Academy team at the 2022 Mandea Moot Court – Helmer Jonelid and Edward Millett – qualified for the final rounds of the competition that will take place in Geneva from 18 to 21 July 2022.
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This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, aims at presenting the institutions and procedures in charge of the implementation of international human rights law.
ICRC
This short course, which can be followed in Geneva or online, will provide participants with an introduction to substantive human rights law. It will start with an introduction to the nature and sources of international human rights law and its place in the international legal system. The course will then provide a presentation of the main principles applicable to substantive rights (jurisdiction, obligation and limitations).
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.