Artificial intelligence risks embedding racial discrimination in policing, justice and public services, experts told a UN committee on Nov. 2, according to a statement published by the United Nations that day.
Experts called for binding rules in the statement, titled “‘Digital Technologies Have Amplified Hateful Narratives’, Third Committee Hears, as Experts Warn of Resurgent Racism, Discrimination Embedded in AI”. They said voluntary commitments fall short of addressing discrimination linked to digital technologies.
Ashwini K.P., the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, said artificial intelligence systems use data and institutional processes shaped by historical inequalities. Technologies developed in societies shaped by colonialism, enslavement, apartheid and racial segregation risk carrying past discrimination into future decisions, Ashwini said.
Automated systems can disproportionately misidentify, monitor and profile racialized communities, Ashwini said. Technologies used to predict crime may also reproduce discriminatory policing.
Ashwini called on governments to adopt rules based on international human rights law that address the discriminatory effects of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies.
Online platforms spread racial hatred through business models that reward engagement regardless of harm, Ashwini said. People of African descent, migrants, Roma, Muslims, Palestinians and Jewish people face online discrimination and harassment, while women and girls can face overlapping racial and gender-based abuse.
Neo-Nazi and related extremist networks increasingly operate across borders through decentralized online connections, Ashwini said. Governments should strengthen measures against racist hate speech and extremist content while investing in education and protecting journalists, human rights defenders and anti-racism advocates.
James Ndirangu Waweru, chair-rapporteur of the UN working group overseeing implementation of the Durban anti-racism declaration, said racism, xenophobia, intolerance and exclusion were resurging. Conflict and displacement disproportionately affect communities already facing exclusion, he said.
People of African descent still face unequal access to justice, education, employment, housing and political participation despite legal and policy advances, Waweru said. He called for governments to advance a draft UN declaration protecting their rights.
Several states said reparations for slavery should extend beyond financial compensation to include recognition of historical wrongs, apologies, remembrance, reconciliation and healing, the UN said.
Gün Kut, chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said persistent discrimination and financial constraints threaten implementation of the international convention against racial discrimination. He said chronic underfunding and a cash shortage put decades of progress at risk.
Kut called for adequate, predictable funding and continued government cooperation. He said racially motivated violence in armed conflict, hate speech by politicians and discrimination against migrants and refugees remain serious concerns.
France's representative said the country's new action plan contains 55 measures against racism, antisemitism and discrimination. Nigeria's delegate called for acknowledgement, accountability and reparatory justice, saying the consequences of transatlantic slavery continue to shape racial inequalities.
