Barr. Christopher Yange Atsen

The world is fast changing; technology has taken a more sophisticated dimension with machines and robots having mutual and closer relationship with humans. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) it becomes easy to predict and monitor human actions and movement, thereby affecting certain fundamental rights and freedoms.

The enormous benefits of Artificial Intelligence in various sectors of human life are replete and cannot be overemphasized. However, AI can impede a wide range of fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) especially when there are no legal safeguards to checkmate their modus operandi from time to time.

RIGHT TO PRIVACY AND FAMILY LIFE

The right to privacy and family life is guaranteed under S.37 of the Nigerian constitution. Artificial Intelligence works with large amount of personal data and images to predict individuals and their preferences. They can also be used in tracking and monitoring individuals without their notice. These may pose a challenge to the right to privacy and family life.

There is also the risk of extracting large amount of personal data without consent and sharing with third parties without consent. This may affect the right to data privacy.

RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY, EXPRESSION AND ASSOCIATION.

39 and 40 of the Nigerian constitution provides for the right to freedom of assembly, expression and association. With technology, the right to association, expression and assembly is exercised online via the internet and various social media platforms. A lot of meetings, discussions, call for campaigns and deliberations are done online. Artificial Intelligence could be used by state and non state actors to predict, track, monitor and prevent online assembly and expression, leading to the profiling of certain activist and certain groups. It may even be used to prevent any attempt to call for peaceful protest or demonstrations, which will violate the right to freedom of assembly and association. According to Amnesty international, AI technologies like facial recognition scanners, are a form of mass surveillance and threaten the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression. (Global citizen.org)
RIGHT TO FREEDOM FROM DISCRIMINATION.

Artificial intelligence functions base on how it was programmed. It is possible it could be programmed knowingly or unknowingly to act in a particular way towards certain race, tribe, gender, culture or people impeding its ability to be objective in all ramifications, leading to bias and discrimination. According to Sahajveer & Swapnil, in 2015, Google AI software categorized a photo of two black people as a picture of gorillas.

RIGHT TO FAIR HEARING

Artificial Intelligence can be used in the judicial application of the law to support judges in court rooms or even replace human judges and decide cases in our courts. They can predict and prepare judicial decisions as fast than a human capacity judge can imagine.

When referring to the right to fair hearing and its judicial application, section 36 of the Constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) comes to mind. Which says everyone shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court constituted in such a manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.

An AI algorithm could be influenced by its creators to give ruling in a particular way, in a particular case and against a particular group of people thereby affecting the content of the ruling by interfering with the system algorithm. Such ability to interfere with the AI system brings to question the independence of the court as well as the right to fair hearing.

Although Artificial Intelligence and its implication on individuals and the society at large is still at its nascent stage and there may be other human rights concerns that may arise from time to time, it is not out of place for the National Human Rights Commission,NGOs, Government, legal experts and relevant stakeholders to kick start the process of understanding AI, its human rights consequences on the Nigerian society and how the human rights concerns could be addressed.

Artificial intelligence will help in improving the development of human life in various sectors. However, it will also have an adverse effect on the fundamental rights of the people, hence the need to set human rights standards for the operation of AI technology.

The National Human Rights Commission, Government, NGOs, private and public sector must put heads together to come up with strategies of balancing the scale between AI technology and fundamental human rights in Nigeria.

Barr. Christopher Yange Atsen

Springfield Law Practice

[email protected](09023680998)