Algorithmic Discrimination: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Rights in Less Developed Countries and the Question of Structural Inequalities in International Law

Kobra Formi

Authors

Kobra Formi MA student, Department of Law, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2967-0693

Keywords:

algorithmic discrimination, artificial intelligence, human rights, development, less developed countries

Abstract

The global advancement of artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies, while creating extensive opportunities, has also generated novel challenges for human rights, particularly with respect to algorithmic discrimination. This form of discrimination, which arises from biased data and inequitable algorithmic design, has more profound consequences in less developed countries, as AI systems often disregard the cultural and social contexts of these societies, thereby exacerbating existing inequalities and increasing the vulnerability of marginalized and disadvantaged groups. This study aims to examine the impact of algorithmic discrimination on human rights in less developed countries and to analyze its relationship with structural inequalities within the international system. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach and drawing on selected case studies, the research examines the direct and indirect effects of inequitable uses of AI technologies on the human rights situation in developing countries. The findings indicate that developed countries, through their control over advanced technologies and restrictions on access to them, contribute to the emergence and persistence of technological inequalities that may manifest in the form of algorithmic discrimination. This process not only leads to violations of the economic, social, and cultural rights of vulnerable groups but also contributes to the reproduction of unequal structures of global power within the technological domain, thereby impeding the realization of global justice in the digital sphere.

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