Leavey Professor Michael Santoro Launches New Speaker Series on AI and Human Rights
As artificial intelligence integrates more deeply into daily life, its impact on human rights has drawn increasing scrutiny. While AI offers tremendous potential for innovation and economic growth, it also poses risks to privacy, equality, and personal freedoms. AI systems used in areas like law enforcement, hiring, and healthcare can produce biased or discriminatory outcomes when trained on flawed data. Additionally, the use of AI for surveillance and automated decision-making raises concerns around transparency, due process, and accountability.
At the heart of these challenges is the need to balance technological advancement with the protection of fundamental human rights. The European Union’s new AI Act seeks to do just that by establishing comprehensive rules governing the use of AI systems, particularly high-risk applications. It mandates greater transparency in AI algorithms, requires human oversight in decision-making processes, and places limits on uses of AI that could infringe on privacy or civil liberties. Similarly, the Digital Services Act aims to hold online platforms accountable for the content they host, with stricter rules for moderating illegal or harmful content, protecting user data, and safeguarding freedom of expression.
Silicon Valley companies doing business with the EU will need to navigate these regulations. To address this, Professor Santoro, a Co-Founder of the Business and Human Rights Journal has launched a new speaker series that will bring together top AI experts to explore these issues and help businesses understand the impact of these laws on their operations.
First Series Event
Regulatory Efforts to Reduce Algorithmic Risks to Human Rights
November 1, 2024
3-5pm
Lucas Hall, Room 105/106
This event, featuring Professor Erika George, a renowned expert in business and human rights, will examine two key pieces of legislation passed by the EU in 2024: the AI Act and the Digital Services Act. These laws present significant challenges for Silicon Valley companies, particularly in complying with new standards around data privacy, accountability, and ethical AI use. Professor George will offer insights on practical compliance strategies and guide companies in developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess algorithmic fairness and ensure transparency in AI decisions.
Professor George, Associate Dean for Equity, Justice, and Engagement at Boston University School of Law, has extensive experience in corporate accountability and human rights. Her latest book, Incorporating Rights: Strategies to Advance Corporate Accountability (2021), explores the intersection of business practices and human rights. As a leading voice in global forums, she will provide valuable guidance on navigating these complex regulations.
Professor George will be joined by Anita Ramasastry, Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law, and Director of the Sustainable International Development Graduate Program at the University of Washington. Professor Ramasastry also served as a member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, having been appointed as a rapporteur by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2016 and she previously served as its chair in 2020. In 2021, Ramasastry also was appointed as the Special Representative on Combatting Corruption at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Ramasastry is a founding co-editor in chief of the Business and Human Rights Journal, published by Cambridge University Press. She is the Co-President of the Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association and launched its annual research scholars forum.
Join us for this timely discussion on the intersection of AI, human rights, and corporate responsibility in the wake of new EU legislation.
(A recording of the event will be made available following the session for those unable to attend in person.)
Upcoming Series Events
We also invite you to join us for future events featuring experts Emmie Hine and Alexander Kriebitz. Invitations will follow in the coming weeks.
Rethinking Human Rights in the Age of AI and XR
November 15, 2024
3:30-5pm
Online Only
Emmie Hine is a research associate at the Yale Digital Ethics Center and a PhD candidate in Law, Science, and Technology at the University of Bologna and KU Leuven. She researches the ethics and governance of emerging technologies, particularly AI and XR, in different geopolitical contexts. Emmie’s dissertation focuses on the human rights impacts of XR technologies. She obtained a master’s degree in the Social Science of the Internet as a Shirley Scholar at the University of Oxford, where her thesis compared American and Chinese AI governance policies. She has also published articles about European AI governance and Chinese and American technology policy. In her spare time, she authors the Ethical Reckoner newsletter.
Prior to beginning her PhD, Emmie worked as a full-stack software engineer at a data management software company in Boston. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Chinese, with a concentration in Science and Technology Studies, from Williams College. She is proficient in English and Mandarin, but her favorite language is TypeScript.
Third Series Event
The Impact of the European AI Act and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive on Silicon Valley: Strategies and Tools for Compliance
December 6, 2024
3:30-5pm
Online Only
Alexander Kriebitz is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (IEAI) at the Technical University of Munich, specializing in AI ethics, governance, and human rights due diligence in the context of AI development and deployment. Alexander advises international organizations and standard-setting bodies on AI and human rights, having led the review of the IEEE CertifAIEd accountability criteria suite and co-authored the recent United Nations Global Compact guidance on AI and human rights. His current research focuses on human rights impact assessments for organizations working with AI, with a particular emphasis on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act and the Digital Services Act.