“Debates about artificial intelligence tend to focus on equality, privacy and freedom of expression…but these systems impact many other rights as well — including our collective right to freedom of thought.”
We like to think that our innermost thoughts are completely private, impervious to others, and certainly protected from the people and platforms we interact with online. But with technological advances and sophisticated algorithms, digital platforms can detect our state of mind and even predict our actions. Worse, as Susie Alegre noted, this information can be used to punish us for our thoughts alone, posing existential threats from political opinion or sexual orientation.
While freedom of thought is protected under international law, guaranteeing human rights is crucial as they are chipped away by new marketing tools and disinformation campaigns. CIGI is building a team of transdisciplinary experts to determine what this unalienable right means in the digital era. CIGI Senior Fellow Maroussia Lévesque recommended specific ways the Canadian government can respond in its AI regulations.