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	Accountability for harms arising from algorithmic systems by Amnesty International, agencies   Feb. 2026   India AI Impact Summit failed to rein in destructive practices of governments and technology companies. (Amnesty International)   “To date, AI summits have failed to advance the necessary regulations for a digitally safe future. If there is one clear takeaway from the India AI Impact Summit, it is that these gatherings have time and again proven largely irrelevant and ineffective at advancing binding rights protections or the safeguards necessary in the context of immense AI investment.   Each year and at each summit, the gulf between state action to safeguard people’s rights and wellbeing, and an increasingly unchecked powerful AI industry keeps growing. They have advanced techno-solutionist narratives and soft governance instruments, where industry and government deepen their alliances.   “States must urgently course‑correct the current AI trajectory, adopt binding guardrails that draw clear prohibitions around technologies that are incompatible with human rights.   “The Summit’s push on sovereignty, innovation and ‘democratisation’ feeds a global trend of turning AI into a race predicated on power accumulation and economic growth at all costs, rather than the collective global action needed to interrupt this. Achieving such a goal would only be possible if the Summit included strong civil society and impacted community engagement on rights concerns which was woefully absent from the start.   “While India was lauded by world leaders for its technological progress, the human rights concerns arising out of technology deployment in the country were papered over. Amnesty International’s own research has shown that the deployment of harmful technologies such as facial recognition and automation in the public sector have threatened the right to privacy and social protection in India and have led to discrimination and exclusion of marginalized communities. Systems of mass surveillance are being expanded in an already pernicious context of rights abuses.   * Massive job losses from the adoption of AI and Automation are predicted to be in the hundreds of millions globally and remain absent from international discussions. With AI industry PR agencies promoting "universal basic incomes" as a supposed antidote to such concerns. Such promotions are farcical, with the World Inequality Report 2026 reporting that the richest 10% of the world’s population owning 75% of wealth and the bottom half just 2%, with the top 1% wealthier than the bottom 90% combined. Government and financial institutions will continue to pursue austerity for the working classes and largesse for economic elites and the millions impacted by AI job losses will be left impoverished for Wall Street investors profits.   * The International Monetary Fund estimates at least 300 million full-time jobs globally affected by AI-related automation by 20230. Goldman Sachs has predicted that as many as half of all jobs could be fully automated by 2045, driven by generative AI and robotics. Amazon believes it can use robots to avoid adding more than half a million jobs in the next few years, the New York Times reports. 800 million workers to lose their jobs because of automation. That's the alarming conclusion of a 2017 report by global management consultants McKinsey.   23 Feb. 2026: Ethan Mollick - Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar, Co-Director, Generative AI Labs at Wharton University: "The CEOs of the AI labs have spent the last two years ominously discussing massive future job losses even as they continued AI development. As AI becomes more salient outside of the “AI bubble,” workers and policymakers are going to start taking that kind of talk very seriously".   * The environmental impact of datacenters required to power AI continues to raise alarm. The International Energy Agency projects that global electricity consumption of AI datacenters will increase 15% each year from 2024 to 2030, more than four times faster than the growth of electricity consumption from all other sectors.   “The demand for new datacenters cannot be met in a sustainable way,” says Noman Bashir, a climate impact fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s climate and sustainability consortium. “The pace at which companies are building new datacenters means the bulk of the electricity to power them must come from fossil fuel-based power plants.”   Speaking at the India AI Impact summit, OpenAI boss Sam Altman was condemned for comparing how much power is used by artificial intelligence models compared to the amount of energy required for human development.   “People talk about how much energy it takes to train an AI model – but it also takes a lot of energy to train a human,” Altman told the Indian Express. “It takes about 20 years of life – and all the food you consume during that time – before you become smart.”   Altman’s remarks generated a widespread backlash online, with many describing his comments as a dystopian disregard for human life, a common condition amongst tech billionaires.   More than 230 environmental groups have called for a moratorium on building AI datacenters in the US. “The rapid, largely unregulated rise of datacenters to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security,” their letter states.   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/02/global-india-ai-impact-summit-failed-to-reign-in-destructive-practices-of-governments-and-technology-companies/ http://www.accessnow.org/press-release/ai-action-summit-a-missed-opportunity-for-human-rights-centered-ai-governance/ http://www.accessnow.org/news-updates/ http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Org-Letter_-National-Data-Center-Moratorium.pdf   13 Jan. 2026   Malaysia and Indonesia block Elon Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images. (agencies)   Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, as concerns grow among authorities that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.   There is growing scrutiny of generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound and text, and concern that existing safeguards are failing to prevent their abuse.   The Grok chatbot, accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticized for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children.   “The government sees nonconsensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space,” Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement.   Scrutiny of Grok is growing, including in the European Union, India, France and the United Kingdom, which said Monday it was moving to criminalize “nudification apps.”   Britain’s media regulator also launched an investigation into whether Grok broke the law by allowing users to share sexualized images of children.   Regulators in the two Southeast Asian nations said existing controls weren’t preventing the creation and spread of fake pornographic content, particularly involving women and children. Indonesia’s government blocked access to Grok on Saturday, followed by Malaysia on Sunday.   Initial findings showed Grok lacks effective safeguards to stop users from creating and distributing pornographic content based on real photos of Indonesian residents, Alexander Sabar, director-general of digital space supervision, said in a statement. He said such practices risk violating privacy and image rights when photos are manipulated or shared without consent.   The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission noted “repeated misuse” of the tool to generate obscene, sexually explicit and nonconsensual manipulated images, including content involving women and children.   The regulator said notices were issued this month to X Corp. and xAI demanding stronger safeguards. “The restriction is imposed as a preventive and proportionate measure while legal and regulatory processes are ongoing,” it said, adding that access will remain blocked until effective safeguards are put in place.   The U.K.'s media regulator said it launched an investigation into whether Grok violated its duty to protect people from illegal content. The regulator, Ofcom, said Grok-generated images of children being sexualized or people being undressed may amount to pornography or child sexual abuse material.   http://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/01/21/elon-musk-donald-trump-social-media-laws-column-00738440 http://www.dw.com/en/eu-opens-probe-into-musks-grok-chatbot/a-75663255 http://www.france24.com/en/france/20260203-paris-prosecutor-s-cybercrime-unit-raids-x-s-french-office http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/deepfake-abuse-is-abuse http://www.unicef.org/reports/artificial-intelligence-and-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation   * UN Bodies issue Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of the Child: http://tinyurl.com/yp9nndha   States should strengthen AI governance frameworks to uphold and protect children’s rights. Global organisations are urged to integrate children’s rights across all AI-related policies and strategies. Governments and companies must ensure AI systems are transparent, accountable and designed to protect children. States must prevent and address violence and exploitation of children enabled or amplified by AI.   Stronger, child-centred data protection measures are needed to safeguard privacy within AI systems. AI-driven decisions should prioritise the best interests and holistic development of every child. Inclusive, bias-free AI is essential to ensure all children benefit. Children’s views and experiences should meaningfully inform AI policymaking and system design. AI development should support environmental sustainability while minimising long-term ecological harm to future generations.   * UN Agencies include United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children; United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children; United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).   http://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/policy-guidance-ai-children   Dec. 2025   Accountability for harms arising from algorithmic systems. (Amnesty International)   With the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making systems (ADMs) that impact our everyday lives, it is crucial that rights defenders, activists and communities are equipped to shed light on the serious implications these systems have on our human rights, Amnesty International said ahead of the launch of its Algorithmic Accountability toolkit.   The toolkit draws on Amnesty International’s investigations, campaigns, media and advocacy in Denmark, Sweden, Serbia, France, India, United Kingdom, Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the United States and the Netherlands. It provides a ‘how to’ guide for investigating, uncovering and seeking accountability for harms arising from algorithmic systems that are becoming increasingly embedded in our everyday lives specifically in the public sector realms of welfare, policing, healthcare, and education.   Regardless of the jurisdiction in which these technologies are deployed, a common outcome from their rollout is not “efficiency” or “improving” societies—as many government officials and corporations claim—but rather bias, exclusion and human rights abuses.   “The toolkit is designed for anyone looking to investigate or challenge the use of algorithmic and AI systems in the public sector, including civil society organizations (CSOs), journalists, impacted people or community organizations. It is designed to be adaptable and versatile to multiple settings and contexts.   “Building our collective power to investigate and seek accountability for harmful AI systems is crucial to challenging abusive practices by states and companies and meeting this current moment of supercharged investments in AI. Given how these systems can enable mass surveillance, undermine our right to social protection, restrict our freedom to peaceful protest and perpetuate exclusion, discrimination and bias across society,” said Damini Satija, Programme Director at Amnesty Tech.   The toolkit introduces a multi-pronged approach based on the learnings of Amnesty International’s investigations in this area over the last three years, as well as learnings from collaborations with key partners. This approach not only provides tools and practical templates to research these opaque systems and their resulting human rights violations, but it also lays out comprehensive tactics for those working to end these abusive systems by seeking change and accountability via campaigning, strategic communications, advocacy or strategic litigation.   One of the many case studies the toolkit draws on is Amnesty International’s investigation into Denmark’s welfare system, exposing how the Danish welfare authority Udbetaling Danmark (UDK)’s AI-powered welfare system fuels mass surveillance and risks discriminating against people with disabilities, low-income individuals, migrants, refugees, and marginalized racial groups through its use of AI tools to flag individuals for social benefits fraud investigations.   The investigation could not have been possible without the collaboration with impacted communities, journalists and local civil society organisations and in that spirit, the toolkit is premised on deep collaboration between different disciplinary groups.   The toolkit situates human rights law as a critically valuable component of algorithmic accountability work, especially given this is a gap in the ethical and responsible AI fields and audit methods’.   Amnesty International’s method ultimately emphasises collaborative work, while harnessing the collective influence of a multi-method approach. Communities and their agency to drive accountability remains at the heart of the process.   “This issue is even more urgent today, given rampant unchecked claims and experimentation around the supposed benefits of using AI in public service delivery. State actors are backing enormous investments in AI development and infrastructure and giving corporations a free hand to pursue their lucrative interests, regardless of the human rights impacts now and further down the line,” said Damini Satija.   “Through this toolkit, we aim to democratize knowledge and enable civil society organizations, investigators, journalists, and impacted individuals to uncover these systems and the industries that produce them, demand accountability, and bring an end to the abuses enabled by these technologies.”   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2025/12/algorithmic-accountability-toolkit/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/12/global-amnesty-international-launches-an-algorithmic-accountability-toolkit-to-enable-investigators-rights-defenders-and-activists-to-hold-powerfu/ http://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/regulation-is-crucial-for-responsible-ai http://thebulletin.org/the-ai-power-trip/ http://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.r2606 http://www.openglobalrights.org/will-human-rights-guide-technological-development/ http://www.business-humanrights.org/en/blog/why-regulation-is-essential-to-tame-techs-rush-for-ai/ http://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/inside-amazons-plans-to-replace-workers-with-robots.html http://www.kcl.ac.uk/shall-we-play-a-game http://safe.ai/ai-risk http://ai-frontiers.org/articles/the-evidence-for-ai-consciousness-today http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/29/gas-power-ai-climate http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/enabled-emissions-how-ai-helps-to-supercharge-oil-and-gas-production/ http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/ai-chatbots-share-climate-disinformation-to-susceptible-users/ http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/procurement-and-deployment-artificial-intelligence-must-be-aligned-human http://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/civicspace/resources/brief-data-privacy-ai-report-rev.pdf http://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/10/how-china-views-ai-risks-and-what-to-do-about-them http://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-using-ai-to-stop-dissent-before-it-even-starts/a-76095344 http://futureoflife.org/ai-safety-index-winter-2025/ http://pwd.org.au/disability-representative-organisations-call-for-transparency-on-computer-generated-ndis-plans/ http://www.acoss.org.au/media_release/acoss-statement-on-the-robodebt-settlement/ http://theconversation.com/people-are-getting-their-news-from-ai-and-its-altering-their-views-269354 http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/6/391 http://icct.nl/publication/reading-between-lines-importance-human-moderators-online-implicit-extremist-content http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/09/unga80-lies-spread-faster-than-facts/   http://www.citizen.org/news/bipartisan-group-of-state-lawmakers-condemn-federal-ai-preemption-efforts/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/12/16/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-ai-accountability-laws http://www.citizen.org/news/trump-grants-his-greedy-big-tech-buddies-christmas-wish-with-dangerous-ai-preemption-eo/ http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/our-work/carr-ryan-commentary/has-technology-outpaced-human-rights-frameworks http://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/1/empire_of_ai_karen_hao_on http://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/technology/ai-slop-sora-social-media.html http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/the-rise-of-the-tech-oligarchy/ http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/rise-of-the-tech-oligarchy-part-ii/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/08/amnesty-launches-breaking-up-with-big-tech-briefing/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/POL30/0226/2025/en/ http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-025-02371-1 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-025-02623-0 Visit the related web page
	Civic freedoms are the backbone of good governance and inclusive democracy by CIVICUS, agencies   Dec. 2025   People Power Under Attack 2025 (CIVICUS)   The world has witnessed a dramatic rollback in fundamental freedoms, including speech, peaceful assembly and association, over the past five years, according to the latest ratings report from the CIVICUS Monitor.   The report, People Power Under Attack 2025, finds that people in 83 countries and territories now live with their freedoms routinely denied, compared to 67 in 2020, with stark declines both in states considered democracies and those governed by authoritarian regimes. The proportion of people living in countries with ‘Open’ or ‘Narrowed’ civic space, fell from nearly 13% in 2020 to just over 7% today.   “We see a continued trend of attacks on people’s right to speak up, come together as a collective, and protest for their rights around the world. This year’s slide is led by states often seen as models of democracy such as the USA, France, and Italy. In a context of rising authoritarianism and populism, no country seems immune from this deeply worrying trend,” said CIVICUS Secretary General Mandeep Tiwana.   “Civic freedoms are the backbone of good governance and inclusive democracy, but fewer and fewer governments are willing to respect the agency of their people to freely and meaningfully participate in public life.”   This year alone, 15 countries saw their ratings downgraded. Among the most concerning changes is the decline in the United States, which moved to the third tier rating ‘Obstructed’ following sweeping executive orders, militarised responses to protests and mounting attacks on press freedom.   European Union Member States, France, Germany and Italy were also all downgraded to ‘Obstructed’, reflecting a hardening stance on dissent, including the adoption of restrictive laws and practices to limit pro-Palestinian and environmental protests. Israel’s civic space fell even further to ‘Repressed’ as authorities eroded judicial independence, assaulted protesters, targeted and deported Palestinian citizens of Israel, and banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees from operating in Israel, all amid the genocide in Gaza. Civic space in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is already rated ‘Closed’ following years of Israeli control.   In the Americas, El Salvador moved to ‘Repressed’ as President Bukele consolidated power, introduced a foreign agents law targeting the media and civil society, and further dismantled institutional checks and balances.   In Africa, Sudan now joins the list of worst offenders in the ‘Closed’ category where civic space is practically non-existent, following more than two years of devastating civil war that has allowed the parties to the conflict to crush the space for civil society and media across the country. Burundi also fell to ‘Closed,’ while Madagascar dropped to ‘Repressed’ following deadly crackdowns on sustained youth-led protests, eventually leading to the military takeover in October 2025.   “While each downgrade reflects the sum of particular incidents in a country or territory, together they show clearly that across the world, civic space is under sustained attack by governments and anti-rights actors,” said CIVICUS Monitor Head Ine Van Severen.   The report documents the most common violations of civic freedoms in 2025. Detention of protesters is the top violation, documented in at least 76 countries, with half of those documented in Africa South of the Sahara. Journalists are frequently detained under restrictive laws, including cybercrimes laws and in some countries vague security or anti-terrorism laws, while judicial harassment of activists is also widely documented.   “The detention of protesters and activists has become the preferred method of governments to silence those who dissent or publicly disagree with the authorities,” said Ine Van Severen. “Authorities must stop detaining people and breaking up protests, and instead start listening to and engaging with people’s demands.”   Despite these troubling trends, the report highlights some positive developments. Chile advanced protections for environmental defenders through landmark legislation, while Senegal and Gabon improved their ratings following political transitions and legal reforms.   Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, an interim government released protesters and activists from prison, many of whom were persecuted under the regime of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. These examples show that progress is possible when governments engage constructively with civil society and uphold international human rights standards.   “We are witnessing a global emergency for civic freedoms. Even with some encouraging steps in places like Chile, Senegal, and Gabon, these remain exceptions to a deeply troubling global trend. Governments must act decisively: dismantle restrictive policies, end arbitrary detentions, and guarantee the right to protest. Failure to do so will risk eroding the legitimacy that underpins their authority,” said Tiwana.   * The CIVICUS Monitor is a global research platform that assesses the state of civic freedoms—including freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly—across 198 countries and territories. Each country is assigned a score from 0 to 100, reflecting the openness of its civic space, with higher scores indicating greater respect for civic freedoms. Based on these scores, countries are classified into five categories: Open, Narrowed, Obstructed, Repressed, or Closed.   http://monitor.civicus.org/globalfindings_2025 http://publications.civicus.org/publications/2025-state-of-civil-society-report/ http://lens.civicus.org/sudan-in-crisis-mass-killings-continue-while-the-world-looks-away/ http://srdefenders.org/joint-statement-time-to-release-all-human-rights-defenders-and-end-their-prolonged-detention/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/civic-space-and-human-rights-defenders   Oct. 2025   Attacks on global aid, rising securitisation, and the dismantling of the international aid architecture pose an urgent threat to fundamental freedoms, a UN expert warned today.   “The collapse of global aid greatly endangers the survival of civil society organisations and threatens the entire civil society ecosystem, as well as the future of international solidarity, collective action, and participation in multilateral forums,” said Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in her report to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.   Romero noted that, since the beginning of 2025, thousands of civil society associations that have been filling critical gaps by providing life-saving services, supporting victims of human rights violations, delivering vital humanitarian responses, and working to fight corruption, protect the environment, and advance peacebuilding, are either disappearing or severely reducing their operations. The impact has been especially severe for grassroots organisations and those led by women, LGBTQI groups, and marginalised communities.   “What is unfolding is not merely a funding issue, it is a structural crisis in the international solidarity ecosystem,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Civic space globally is suffocating, not only because States are intensifying the scale and gravity of repression, but also because the lifelines that kept it alive are fundamentally challenged.”   The expert stressed that securitisation of the global agenda is driving a shift in funds and political priorities towards strengthening defence and military capabilities at the expense of democratisation and human rights. She noted that States are increasingly misusing national security grounds and discourse to justify the repression civil society and social movements.   “The securitisation and militarisation of State responses to non-violent collective actions, which are increasingly led by youth activists and have resulted in serious violations, are deeply alarming,” Romero said.   The Special Rapporteur called for urgent action to rebuild international solidarity and redesign a strengthened, fairer global aid architecture. “This requires reimagining international aid architecture, through a participatory and transparent process, and ensuring that it is equitable, inclusive, people-centred and rights-based,” she said.   The expert warned that severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms threaten decades of progress on human rights and democratisation, jeopardising the fulfilment of global commitments towards the Sustainable Development Goals, peace and security, inclusion and equality, and climate justice.   “States should implement a human rights-based approach to security, ensuring security policies and decisions are firmly rooted in international human rights standards; enable freedoms; and foster democratic resilience and inclusive governance,” Romero said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/global-aid-dismantling-poses-existential-threat-collective-action-and-human http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a80219-report-special-rapporteur-rights-freedom-peaceful-assembly-and http://eurochild.org/news/podcast-shrinking-funds-for-nonprofits/
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