Amina Bouayach, president of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council and chair of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, has warned of the risks posed by the irresponsible use of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, calling for human rights to be placed at the center of policies and legislation governing their development and use.
Speaking at the opening of a high-level international conference on human rights in the digital age and artificial intelligence in Athens on Wednesday, October 14, Bouayach said rapid technological advances were placing growing responsibilities on governments and national and international institutions tasked with protecting rights and freedoms.
Artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities to improve public services, facilitate access to rights and promote social inclusion, particularly for people who face barriers to essential services, she said. But these benefits come alongside risks that technology could deepen existing inequalities, create new forms of discrimination and undermine fundamental rights.
Human rights are universal and must be protected in the digital space as well as in other areas of life, Bouayach said. The central challenge, she added, lies in the political and legal choices governing how digital systems are designed, developed and used, and whether adequate safeguards are in place to protect individuals from potential violations.
Deepfakes and biased algorithms raise concerns
Bouayach highlighted the risks associated with disinformation and deepfakes, which can make it harder for people to access reliable information and distinguish authentic content from fabricated material. These concerns are growing as tools capable of generating images, audio recordings and videos become increasingly sophisticated and difficult to verify.
She also warned that biased algorithms could reproduce or deepen existing discrimination when artificial intelligence systems rely on unbalanced datasets or unfair criteria. She called for preventive measures to ensure that the principles of equality and non-discrimination are respected in the development and use of such systems.
The Moroccan rights chief raised concerns about the extensive use of facial recognition technology, particularly its implications for personal data protection and the right to privacy. Applications that may affect individual freedoms, she said, require clear rules and effective oversight and accountability mechanisms.
She added that algorithmic systems used to process personal data or make decisions affecting people’s social and legal circumstances must be subject to safeguards against discrimination and unfair outcomes.
Call for human oversight and accountability
Bouayach called for clear responsibilities to be assigned to the various parties involved in developing and operating artificial intelligence systems. She also stressed the need for human oversight of AI-generated decisions to ensure that technical complexity does not become a pretext for weakening accountability or denying affected individuals access to remedies.
Human rights protections, she said, should be incorporated from the earliest stages of digital system design and maintained throughout development, deployment and use. This requires regular human rights impact assessments, the identification of potential risks before systems are introduced, and continued monitoring of their effects once they are in operation.
Bouayach also said authorities should be prepared to restrict or reconsider the use of certain applications when their serious risks cannot be adequately controlled, particularly when continued operation could threaten human dignity, privacy or equality.
She emphasized the importance of effective accountability and redress mechanisms for people harmed by AI systems, allowing responsibility to be established, violations addressed and legal protections upheld.
National human rights institutions have an important role to play in monitoring the digital transition, she said, including by identifying potential violations, issuing opinions and recommendations to the relevant authorities, and helping shape legislation and public policies in line with international human rights standards.
These institutions must help translate international human rights commitments into practical and measurable measures, while strengthening their capacity to monitor the impact of emerging technologies, particularly in areas where algorithms are increasingly used to make decisions or process personal data.
Protecting human dignity in the digital transition
Bouayach also drew attention to the social and human dimensions of artificial intelligence, including the people involved in training digital systems and keeping them operational.
This includes content moderators and data-labeling workers, whose work is essential to the development of AI technologies but can take place in different regions of the world. Their rights and dignity must also be protected, she said, stressing that human rights obligations should cover every stage of technology production and operation, including the working conditions involved in preparing datasets and reviewing content.
Realizing AI’s potential requires governance grounded in respect for fundamental rights, clear guarantees of transparency and human oversight, and continued assessment of how digital innovation affects different social groups, particularly those most exposed to discrimination and exclusion.
As digital systems become more widely used to deliver services and make decisions, unequal access to technology and uneven exposure to its risks remain important concerns, she said.
Technological progress must serve people, Bouayach stressed, and be accompanied by safeguards to prevent violations of fundamental freedoms and the deepening of social inequalities. Human responsibility must remain central throughout the development and use of intelligent systems.
Concluding her remarks, Bouayach said that “commitment to human rights is not optional,” calling for technological innovation to advance justice, inclusion and access to rights without becoming a source of further discrimination or violations of fundamental freedoms.
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