On the International Day of Democracy, Maat calls for Protecting the Values of Democracy in Light of the Implications of Modern Digital Technologies
Okeil: Digital technologies threaten democracy and restrict civic space
Fawky: AI-based applications may put individual liberties on edge
Mokhtar: An international legal framework must be established to protect the principles of democracy in the digital age
In conjunction with the International Day of Democracy, which marks September 15 of each year, Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights issued a new study entitled "Democracy at Stake: The Limits of the Impact of Modern Technology on the Values and Principles of Democracy”, in order to call on all parties to protect and promote the values of democracy, which have become in grave danger due to the rise of modern technologies, which pose an imminent threat to citizens’ personal freedoms, undermine election integrity, and fuel inequality among citizens to unprecedented levels. Maat has developed five basic indicators that include a number of sub-criteria through which it shows the extent to which new technologies affect the values and principles of the democratic process, based on international treaties and instruments and human rights reports issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In this regard, Ayman Okeil, a human rights expert and President of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, indicated that in recent years, different countries across the globe have been caught misusing artificial intelligence, advanced spyware and cyberattacks to undermine democracy and restrict civil space, especially in authoritarian countries witnessing human rights violations.
Okeil warned that these advanced technologies threaten individual freedoms on a large scale, undermine the independence of civil society organizations and the media, and allow the ongoing prosecution of activists and human rights defenders, in light of an environment that does not provide the lowest standards of respect for basic democratic values and amidst a general sense of disappointment.
For his part, Eslam Fawky, Director of the Democracy Support Program at Maat, indicated that AI-enabled applications may put personal freedoms on the edge, and promote fake news, misleading propaganda and manipulative information on a large scale, thus impacting the right of citizens to develop their opinions. In addition to the above, AI biases threaten the rule of law, which is part of the sustainability of the democratic process, Fawky added.
In the same context, Muhammad Mukhtar, Deputy Director of the Democracy Support Program at Maat, stressed the need to develop a strong and binding legal framework for governments and technology companies, to avoid the serious implications of modern technological applications on the principles of democracy, in addition to establishing a human-based unit to monitor artificial intelligence systems working in the field of criminal justice to ensure the rule of law.
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