NHRCK hosts International Human Rights Conference on New Technology and Human Rights - Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence
□ The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (Chairperson Ahn Chang-ho, hereinafter “NHRCK”), the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea, and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) jointly held the International Human Rights Conference on New Technology and Human Rights – Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence (“the Conference”) on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. in the Orchid Hall of the Westin Josun Hotel in Seoul.
□ The Conference was convened to examine the wide-ranging impact of the rapid development and dissemination of artificial intelligence (AI) across society and to discuss new human rights challenges such as data bias, algorithmic discrimination, and the digital divide.
○ Keynote address was delivered by professor Philip Alston, former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights and Professor at New York University School of Law. Professor Alston analyzed how technological advances affect poverty, inequality, and human rights more broadly, and outlined directions for technology governance with human rights at its center.
○ The first session reviewed the latest developments in international norms related to AI and discussed methodologies for assessing AI’s human rights impacts as well as the legal and policy challenges facing Korea.
○ The second session focused on how AI can exacerbate social inequality and discrimination, highlighting the technology gap between the Global North and South, data bias, privacy and surveillance concerns, and disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups including women and workers.
○ Lastly, the final session explored human rights-based responses to the changes and challenges of the AI era, with particular attention to the role of NHRIs and international organizations in establishing cooperative frameworks and long-term strategies.
□ Through this Conference, the NHRCK sought to propose governance models that harmonize technological innovation with human rights protection and to strengthen international cooperation, thereby ensuring that domestic policies and systems continue to align with international human rights standards.
