‘Red-Lines’: How do Global Legal Systems Respond to the Risks of Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) use is growing rapidly across a range of sectors, including defence, national security, policing, healthcare, education and delivery and planning of state services. There is acute concern around the impact on individual and collective human rights. Though the progress and implementation of AI has until recently far outstripped the development of regulatory systems, there are now attempts, particularly in European Union law and through the international human rights system, to constrain those uses of AI which most impact human rights. This contribution is primarily intended for a non-specialist Irish audience who wish to gain an understanding of the risks of AI to human rights and the challenges of regulating this technology. It discusses the impact of AI on human rights, regulatory approaches to limiting harm, and concludes by commenting on Ireland’s role in the global regulatory system.