I had the pleasure of welcoming Pat De Brún, Amnesty International’s Head of Big Tech Accountability and Deputy Director of Amnesty’s Technology and Human Rights Programme.
We discussed the complex relationship between today’s AI-driven algorithms, human rights, and the role of big tech companies in influencing geopolitics.
Pat shared insights into Amnesty’s commitment to impartiality and independence, emphasising their reliance on international human rights law to guide their research and advocacy.
We discussed the organisation’s decade-long focus on technology’s impact on human rights, highlighting their work on spyware and big tech accountability. Pat elaborated on the challenges posed by the business models of major tech companies, such as Meta and Google, which prioritise engagement and data collection over privacy and human rights.
This model, often termed “surveillance capitalism,” has led to significant societal issues, including misinformation, incitement to violence, and mental health problems.
We explored the need for regulatory changes to address these systemic issues, emphasising that the problem lies not with the technology itself but with the exploitative practices behind it.
The conversation also touched on the role of social media in recent far-right riots in the UK, where misinformation spread rapidly, fueled by platforms like X. Pat explained how design choices and policy changes under Elon Musk’s leadership contributed to the amplification of harmful content. But this issue is not exclusive to X.
Join the conversation now to understand how widespread this problem has become and its implications on your life, work and business decisions.
Thumbnail image of persons generated with Grok AI.
