Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights: Corporate Responsibility Under International Human Rights Law

Private businesses are key drivers in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), whether in the field of criminal justice, financial fraud, the provision of essential public services or recruitment, to name a few. Due to their central position in the creation of AI, businesses play a crucial role in ensuring that AI is human-centric and respects human rights. However, while many guidelines and principles in AI ethics address the role of businesses developing AI, the position of businesses under international human rights law remains somewhat unclear in this context. The current international human rights law framework was developed in the aftermath of the second world war, during which time focus was placed on the protection of individuals from States, rather than private businesses. Furthermore, the incredible leaps in technological developments that have occurred since this time were not envisaged by the drafters of international human rights law. While developments have certainly been made with the adoption of (non-legally binding) international standards to protect human rights from private businesses, crucial questions regarding the specific role and responsibilities of businesses developing AI remain to be answered here: What human rights responsibilities do businesses developing AI currently have under international human rights law? What standards exist to elucidate these, and what is the legal status of these standards? What shortcomings and challenges exist in this regard, and how can we move forwards to ensure AI that respects human rights? This chapter seeks to answer these questions. First, the chapter briefly exemplifies the negative impact AI developed by private businesses can have on human rights, such as causing discriminatory access to goods and services. Next, the general legal framework regarding businesses’ responsibilities under international human rights law is laid down and applied to the development of AI in order to identify more specific standards of behaviour expected from businesses in this context and to identify key challenges in achieving their implementation.