From everyday apps to complex algorithms, technology has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination, while appearing neutral.  From research, we know how race itself is a tool designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice and challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold, but also the ones we manufacture ourselves.

While AI brings solutions to societal problems, its unpredictable nature, inexplicability, and reflection or amplification of data biases raise various concerns about privacy, security, fairness, and even democracy. Increasing evidence demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies may not only exacerbate existing inequalities, but in effect differentiate, target and experiment on communities at the margins.  In particular, racialised communities are disproportionately affected by surveillance, (data-driven) profiling, discrimination online and other digital rights violations.   

In health, housing, employment, and education, data that is used as evidence to train AI models have been prejudiced against people of African descent, first by disproportionately reflecting specific demographics; second, by having certain assumptions or stereotypes about different groups embedded in the data. The use of big data and algorithms in the context of healthcare, education, housing, employment, access to services, and in attaining cultural rights has the potential to reproduce existing patterns of discrimination, inherit the prejudice of prior decision makers, or simply reflect the widespread biases that persist in society.

Objectives and inputs sought

The thematic report will examine the human rights of people of African descent in the age of digitalization, analysing the risks, embedded racial bias, and documented misuse of AI and the actual and potential discriminatory impact on the economic, social, and cultural rights of people of African descent. The report will examine three main areas: a) the racialization of and discrimination in digitalisation and artificial intelligence in the context of the economic, social and cultural rights of people of African descent; b) how regulatory regimes, preparation for, access to, participation in, and the expertise of people of African descent in the tech sector have significantly shaped both the discourse and interrogation of AI; and c) data collection, analysis, and data use with appropriate safeguards. The report will make recommendations for the positive and non-discriminatory use of digitalisation and AI.

The United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent invites States, companies, non-governmental organizations, academia and other interested stakeholders to provide input on any of the six topics considered in this report:

Topic 1. Health and healthcare, nutrition, food security;   

Topic 2. Education and training;

Topic 3. Housing and basic social services, i.e. water, sanitation, and electricity;   

Topic 4. Employment;

Topic 5. Economic independence;   

Topic 6. The arts and sports.

The Working Group also welcomes input regarding the following:

1. Issues and challenges, lessons learned, including the impact of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other human rights violations, affecting the realization of the economic, social, and cultural rights of people of African descent in the context of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and new and emerging technologies;
2. Examples of approaches and initiatives by Member States; local governments; academia; UN agencies, funds and programmes; national human rights institutions and equality bodies; civil society, tech companies and the private sector to promote the realization of the economic, social, and cultural rights of people of African descent through digitalization, artificial intelligence, and new and emerging technologies;
3. Laws, regulations, policies and practices as well as decisions by courts and tribunals preventing and addressing the use or the impact of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and new and emerging technologies on the enjoyment of the economic, social and cultural rights of people of African descent as well as measures to provide effective remedies, recourse, and redress.
4. Recommendations for ensuring the full realization of the economic, social, and cultural rights of people of African descent in the context of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and new and emerging technologies.

How the inputs will be used

Unless otherwise specified, all  submissions will be made available in full and as received on the   webpage of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent. Kindly indicate if the submission contains names, images or other information that should not be posted on the webpage. Please note that not all information provided will be necessarily reflected in the final report.