Justice Minister Arthur Dowers told an international audience in New York that AI accountability must remain with the people and organizations that develop, deploy and use artificial-intelligence systems.
Dowers addresses rights and remedies in New York
Dowers delivered a keynote address during a meeting titled Rights, Remedies and AI Jurisprudence: Upholding Justice, Rule of Law and Human Rights in the Age of Agentic AI. The event formed part of his program during the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Week.
His address focused on three themes: applying existing legal frameworks, assigning responsibility to AI developers and users, and ensuring transparency when automated systems influence decisions.
Existing rights still apply to new technology
Dowers argued that technological change does not erase established law or universal human rights. He referred to a 2020 Dutch court decision involving a government welfare-fraud algorithm as an example of existing human-rights standards being applied to automated decision-making.
He said public and private organizations should use technology capable of affecting rights only when they can accept responsibility and manage the associated risks. Delegating a task to an autonomous system, he argued, does not transfer responsibility away from human decision-makers.
Transparency is essential for legal challenges
Dowers said people should be told when AI contributes to a decision carrying legal consequences and should receive enough information to question that decision. Without meaningful disclosure, the ability to seek an effective legal remedy may be weakened.
He also called for judges to develop a practical understanding of AI and its risks. His central conclusion was that technological progress and human-rights protection must advance together, with final accountability remaining human.
Source: Diario.
